Defn: 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, §§ 31-35.
5. (Scots Law)
Defn: Distress; the act of distraining; also, the thing distrained.
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.
STRESS
Stress, v. t.
1. To press; to urge; to distress; to put to difficulties. [R.] Spenser.
2. To subject to stress, pressure, or strain.
STRESSFUL
Stress"ful, a.
Defn: Having much stress. Rush.
STRETCH Stretch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stretched; p. pr. & vb. n. Stretching.] Etym: [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D. strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. sträcka, Dan. strække; cf. AS. stræck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack straight; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to E. strong. Cf. Straight.]
1. To reach out; to extend; to put forth. And stretch forth his neck long and small. Chaucer. I in conquest stretched mine arm. Shak.