<p><strong>Verb (used with object):</strong></p><ul><li>To place (the accents) on beats that are normally unaccented.</li><li>To treat (a passage, piece, etc.) in this way.</li></ul><p><strong>Grammar:</strong></p><ul><li>To contract (a word) by omitting one or more sounds from the middle, as in reducing Gloucester to Gloster.</li></ul>