To put to a stress

To put to a 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 — 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;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stress of voice — 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,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stress of weather — 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,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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 — [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 testing — is a form of testing that is used to determine the stability of a given system or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, in order to observe the results. Stress testing may have a more specific… …   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

  • put — [ put ] (past tense and past participle put) verb transitive *** ▸ 1 move something to position ▸ 2 cause to be in situation ▸ 3 write/print something ▸ 4 make someone go to place ▸ 5 give position on list ▸ 6 build/place somewhere ▸ 7 express in …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 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

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