Stress

Stress
Stress Stress, n. [Abbrev. fr. distress; or cf. OF. estrecier to press, pinch, (assumed) LL. strictiare, fr. L. strictus. See {Distress}.] 1. Distress. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Sad hersal of his heavy stress. --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

2. Pressure, strain; -- used chiefly of immaterial things; except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight; significance. [1913 Webster]

The faculties of the mind are improved by exercise, yet they must not be put to a stress beyond their strength. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

A body may as well lay too little as too much stress upon a dream. --L'Estrange. [1913 Webster]

3. (Mech. & Physics) The force, or combination of forces, which produces a strain; force exerted in any direction or manner between contiguous bodies, or parts of bodies, and taking specific names according to its direction, or mode of action, as thrust or pressure, pull or tension, shear or tangential stress. --Rankine. [1913 Webster]

Stress is the mutual action between portions of matter. --Clerk Maxwell. [1913 Webster]

4. (Pron.) Force of utterance expended upon words or syllables. Stress is in English the chief element in accent and is one of the most important in emphasis. See {Guide to pronunciation}, [sect][sect] 31-35. [1913 Webster]

5. (Scots Law) Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained. [1913 Webster]

{Stress of voice}, unusual exertion of the voice.

{Stress of weather}, constraint imposed by continued bad weather; as, to be driven back to port by stress of weather.

{To lay stress upon}, to attach great importance to; to emphasize. ``Consider how great a stress is laid upon this duty.'' --Atterbury.

{To put stress upon}, or {To put to a stress}, to strain. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • STRESS — Le stress est un terme emprunté à la physique. Ce terme désigne la contrainte exercée sur un matériau. Normalement, un matériau est capable de résister à toute une série de contraintes modérées. Mais, si la contrainte est excessive ou si le… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Stress — (engl. für „Druck, Anspannung“; lat. stringere: „anspannen“) bezeichnet zum einen durch spezifische äußere Reize (Stressoren) hervorgerufene psychische und physische Reaktionen bei Lebewesen, die zur Bewältigung besonderer Anforderungen befähigen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • stress — [stres] noun [uncountable] continuous feelings of worry about your work or personal life, that prevent you from relaxing: • a stress related illness (= one caused by stress ) • She s been under stress at work. • a stress management consultant …   Financial and business terms

  • Stress — may refer to: Mechanical * Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area. * Yield stress, the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically. * Compressive stress, the stress applied to materials resulting in their… …   Wikipedia

  • stress — n 1 Stress, strain, pressure, tension are comparable terms when they apply to the action or effect of force exerted within or upon a thing. Stress and strain are the comprehensive terms of this group and are sometimes used interchangeably {put… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • stress — strèss s.m.inv. 1. TS psic. reazione emozionale a una serie di stimoli esterni che mettono in moto risposte fisiologiche e psicologiche di natura adattiva | impropr., ogni stimolo che induce stress 2. CO colloq., tensione nervosa, logorio… …   Dizionario italiano

  • stress — [stres] n. [ME stresse < OFr estresse < VL * strictia < L strictus,STRICT; also, in some senses, aphetic < DISTRESS] 1. strain or straining force; specif., a) force exerted upon a body, that tends to strain or deform its shape b) the… …   English World dictionary

  • Stress — (str[e^]s), v. t. 1. To press; to urge; to distress; to put to difficulties. [R.] Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. To subject to stress, pressure, or strain. [1913 Webster] 3. To subject to phonetic stress; to accent. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] 4. To place… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stress — [n1] emphasis accent, accentuation, beat, force, import, importance, significance, urgency, weight; concepts 65,668 Ant. ignorance, unimportance stress [n2] physical or mental pressure affliction, agony, alarm, albatross*, anxiety,… …   New thesaurus

  • stress|or — «STREHS uhr», noun. Psychology. any stimulus that produces stress or strain: »Experimental stressors, for obvious reasons, are very mild, the most usual being distracting or painful noises, electric shocks, the stress of examinations (New… …   Useful english dictionary

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