1
: constraining force or influence: such as
a
: a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation
reduce stress and inflammation
stress hormones
Body aches … are a sign that your body is … recovering from a period of stress.—Heidi Cope
b
: 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
… compelling evidence that interacting with dogs can reduce stress … —Sandra Rose Salathe
d
: 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
… engineers found more than 100 locations where the stresses of reentry damaged the heat shield. —Eric Berger
e
: the deformation caused in a body by such a force
a stress fracture
To reduce the amount of stress on your back, bend your knees when you lift something heavy.
2
3
: intensity of utterance given to a speech sound, syllable, or word producing relative loudness
The stress is on the first syllable when "protest" is a noun.
4
a
: relative force or prominence of sound in verse
These stress patterns are defined in groupings, called feet, of two or three syllables.—Bennet Bergman
b
: a syllable having relative force or prominence
5
: accent sense 5a
In a measure of 4/4 meter, the first beat will have the strongest stress …—Joe Mulholland and Tom Hojnacki
6
archaic
: intense effort or exertion
stressed; stressing; stresses
1
: to lay stress on : to give special attention to : emphasize
stressed the importance of teamwork
… the governor and her team have both continued to stress the need for infrastructure …—Dave Boucher
Musicians most often create syncopation by stressing an off‐beat …—Michael Pilhofer and Holly Day
2
informal
: to experience bodily or mental tension because of a situation, circumstances, etc. : to be worried or anxious about something
The situation is really stressing me.
—often used with outDon't let it stress you out.
3
: to subject to physical or psychological stress
stressing the equipment
this traffic is stressing me out
4
: to subject to phonetic stress : to pronounce (a syllable or word) in a louder or more forceful way than other syllables or words : accent
stressed vowels
: to feel stress
stressing about the big exam
Try not to stress about it.
—often used with outIt's making me stress out.
Cite this Entry
“Stress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stress. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.
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