I. ˈstres noun
Etymology: Middle English stresse stress, distress, short for destresse — more at distress
Date: 14th century
1. : constraining force or influence: as
a. : a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part ; especially : the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch
b. : the deformation caused in a body by such a force
c. : a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation
d. : a state resulting from a stress ; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium
job-related stress
e. : strain , pressure
the environment is under stress to the point of collapse — Joseph Shoben
2. : emphasis , weight
lay stress on a point
3. archaic : intense effort or exertion
4. : intensity of utterance given to a speech sound, syllable, or word producing relative loudness
5.
a. : relative force or prominence of sound in verse
b. : a syllable having relative force or prominence
6. : accent 6a
II. verb
Date: 1545
transitive verb
1. : to subject to physical or psychological stress
stress ing the equipment
this traffic is stress ing me out
2. : to subject to phonetic stress : accent
3. : to lay stress on : emphasize
stress ed the importance of teamwork
intransitive verb
: to feel stress
stress ing about the big exam
— often used with out