What is meant by tensile strength?

Tensile strength refers specifically to a material's ability to withstand tension, or pulling forces, without failure. It is essentially a measure of how much longitudinal force a material can resist before it starts to deform or break. This characteristic is critical in engineering and design because it helps determine the practical limits for materials used in construction and manufacturing.

When a material is subjected to tensile stress, it is pulled in opposite directions. The point at which the material can no longer withstand these forces and either yields or fractures defines its tensile strength. Therefore, understanding tensile strength is crucial for applications where materials are expected to handle stretching or pulling loads, ensuring safety and structural integrity.

The incorrect answers touch on related concepts but do not accurately encapsulate the definition of tensile strength. While some options mention stretching or load-bearing, they fail to zero in on the specific context of how a material responds to tensile forces.