Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Stress \Stress\, v. t.
   1. To subject to phonetic stress; to accent.

   2. To place emphasis on; to make emphatic; emphasize.

Stress \Stress\, n. [Abbrev. fr. distress; or cf. OF. estrecier
   to press, pinch, (assumed) LL. strictiare, fr. L. strictus.
   See {Distress}.]
   1. Distress. [Obs.]

            Sad hersal of his heavy stress.       --Spenser.

   2. Pressure, strain; -- used chiefly of immaterial things;
      except in mechanics; hence, urgency; importance; weight;
      significance.

            The faculties of the mind are improved by exercise,
            yet they must not be put to a stress beyond their
            strength.                             --Locke.

            A body may as well lay too little as too much stress
            upon a dream.                         --L'Estrange.

   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.

            Stress is the mutual action between portions of
            matter.                               --Clerk
                                                  Maxwell.

   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.

   5. (Scots Law) 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.

Source : WordNet®

stress
     n 1: the relative prominence of a syllable or musical note
          (especially with regard to stress or pitch); "he put the
          stress on the wrong syllable" [syn: {emphasis}, {accent}]
     2: (psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or
        suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional
        tension"; "stress is a vasoconstrictor" [syn: {tension}, {tenseness}]
     3: (physics) force that produces strain on a physical body;
        "the intensity of stress is expressed in units of force
        divided by units of area"
     4: special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more
        on accuracy than on speed" [syn: {focus}]
     5: difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she
        endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided
        over the economy during the period of the greatest stress
        and danger"- R.J.Samuelson [syn: {strain}]

stress
     v 1: to stress, single out as important; "Dr. Jones emphasizes
          exercise in addition to a change in diet" [syn: {emphasize},
           {emphasise}, {punctuate}, {accent}, {accentuate}]
     2: put stress on; utter with an accent; "In Farsi, you accent
        the last syllable of each word" [syn: {accent}, {accentuate}]
     3: test the limits of; "You are trying my patience!" [syn: {try},
         {strain}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

STRESS
     
        STRuctual Engineering Systems Solver.
     
        A system for structural analysis problems in Civil
        Engineering.  STRESS was superseded by {STRUDL}.
     
        ["STRESS: A User's Manual", S.J. Fenves et al, MIT Press
        1964].
     
        [Sammet 1969, p. 612].
     
        (1995-01-31)