The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word TENSILE
T
E
N
S
I
L
E
More clues leading to the result TENSILE
- Sort of strength in steel when tempered
- Strength as may be required in steel construction?
- Capable of being stretched in future possibly to include the centre of Basildon
- Part of roof covering spaces that may be stretched
- In hindsight, old priest’s clear about stretching
- Kind of strength shown by Israel under pressure all around
- XXX French island for a stretch
- Playing in sleet, able to be drawn out
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "stretch" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case stretch = tensile.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does TENSILE mean?
TENSILE adjective- Of or pertaining to tension.
- Capable of being stretched; ductile.