Tension is best described as which kind of force?

1. A tension is a force along the length of a medium, especially a flexible one such as a rope or cable. 2. A flexible connector can exert pulls only parallel to its length. 3. Tension is therefore a pull rather than a push, since you cannot push a rope. 4. A force across the width of a rope would not be a tension at all. _Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Dynamics: Force and Newton's Laws of Motion", section 4.5 Normal, Tension, and Other Examples of Forces_