a grammatical category of verbs used to express distinctions of time
"The teacher explained that past, present, and future are three different tenses in English grammar."
Any of the forms of a verb which distinguish when an action or state of being occurs or exists.
"The teacher explained that verbs have different tenses to show whether an action happens in the past, present, or future."
In plain English: A tense is a state of being nervous, anxious, or on edge about something that might go wrong.
"The argument ended with an uncomfortable silence and high tension between them."
Usage: When referring to grammatical categories, use "tense" rather than the adjective form even though both relate to time and mood distinctions. Avoid confusing this noun with the adjective describing emotional state unless context clearly indicates a shift in meaning.
increase the tension on
"alternately relax and tense your calf muscle"
"tense the rope manually before tensing the spring"
To apply a tense to.
"The heavy rain made the atmosphere tense as we waited for the storm to pass."
To make tense.
in or of a state of physical or nervous tension
"The tense atmosphere in the room made everyone feel too nervous to speak freely."
pronounced with relatively tense tongue muscles (e.g., the vowel sound in `beat')
"The teacher explained that the /i/ sound is a tense vowel because it requires the tongue to be pulled high and forward."
Showing signs of stress or strain; not relaxed.
"After the long flight, her muscles were tense and aching from sitting in the cramped seat."
In plain English: Tense describes something that is under pressure, stressed out, or about to break because it has been pushed too hard for too long.
"The audience sat tense during the suspenseful scene in the movie."
The word tense comes from the Latin tempus, meaning "time," which entered English via Old French. It is a doublet related to the words tempo and tempus, all sharing the same root.