Tension

From Middle French tension.

Full definition of tension

(plural tensions)

Condition of being held in a state between two or more forces, which are acting in opposition to each other
Psychological state of being tense.
(physics, engineering) State of an elastic object which is stretched in a way which increases its length.
(physics, engineering) Force transmitted through a rope, string, cable, or similar object (used with prepositions on, in, or of, e.g., "The tension in the cable is 1000 N", to convey that the same magnitude of force applies to objects attached to both ends).
(physics, engineering) Voltage. Usually only the terms low tension, high tension, and extra-high tension, and the abbreviations LT, HT, and EHT are used. They are not precisely defined; LT is normally a few volts, HT a few hundreds of volts, and EHT thousands of volts.

To place an object in tension, to pull or place strain on.We tensioned the cable until it snapped.