<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>importance attached to a thing: to lay stress upon good manners.</li><li>worth, value, weight, consequence, emphasis, meaning, significance.</li><li>emphasis in the form of prominent relative loudness of a syllable or a word as a result of special effort in utterance.</li><li>accent or emphasis on syllables in a metrical pattern; beat.</li><li>emphasis in melody, rhythm, etc.; beat.</li><li>the physical pressure, pull, or other force exerted on one thing by another; strain.</li><li>the action on a body of any system of balanced forces whereby strain or deformation results.</li><li>the amount of stress, usually measured in pounds per square inch or in pascals.</li><li>a load, force, or system of forces producing a strain.</li><li>the internal resistance or reaction of an elastic body to the external forces applied to it.</li><li>the ratio of force to area.</li><li>a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, that disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism.</li><li>physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension: Worry over his job and his wife's health put him under a great stress.</li><li>a situation, occurrence, or factor causing this: The stress of being trapped in the elevator gave him a pounding headache.</li><li>strong or straining exertion.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>to lay stress on; emphasize.</li><li>to pronounce (a syllable or a word) with prominent loudness: Compare accent.</li><li>to subject to stress or strain.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>to experience stress or worry: Don't stress about the turkey; I promise it will be delicious.</li><li>to subject to stress.</li></ul>