stress
A physical, chemical, infective agent aggressing an organism.
Other meanings
Aggression toward an organism resulting in a response in an attempt to restore previous conditions.
The internal distribution of force across a small boundary per unit area of that boundary (pressure) within a body. It causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by σ or τ.
Related words
- antistress
- anxiostressive
- backstress
- cryostress
- eigenstress
- electrostress
- eustress
- genostress
- geostress
- hyperstress
- hypostress
- infostress
Example sentences
Word history
From Latin "strictus" (narrow).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “stress” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.