accent

American  

[ak-sent, ak-sent, ak-sent] / ˈæk sɛnt, ˈæk sɛnt, ækˈsɛnt /

noun

1. prominence of a syllable in terms of differential loudness, or of pitch, or length, or of a combination of these.

2. degree of prominence of a syllable within a word and sometimes of a word within a phrase.

   primary accent; secondary accent.

3. a mark indicating stress (as (ˈ, ˌ), or (′, ″)), vowel quality (as French grave `, acute ´, circumflex^ ), form (as French la “the” versus là “there”), or pitch.

4. any similar mark.

5. Prosody.

   1. regularly recurring stress.

   2. a mark indicating stress or some other distinction in pronunciation or value.

6. a musical tone or pattern of pitch inherent in a particular language either as a feature essential to the identification of a vowel or a syllable or to the general acoustic character of the language.

7. Often accents.

   1. the unique speech patterns, inflections, choice of words, etc., that identify a particular individual.

      We recognized his accents immediately. She corrected me in her usual mild accents.

   2. the distinctive style or tone characteristic of an author, composer, etc..

      the unmistakably Brahmsian accents of the sonata; She recognized the familiar accents of Robert Frost in the poem.

8. a mode of pronunciation, as pitch or tone, emphasis pattern, or intonation, characteristic of or peculiar to the speech of a particular person, group, or locality.

   French accent; Southern accent.

9. such a mode of pronunciation recognized as being of foreign origin.

   He still speaks with an accent.

10. Music.

    1. a stress or emphasis given to certain notes.

    2. a mark noting this.

    3. stress or emphasis regularly recurring as a feature of rhythm.

11. Mathematics.

    1. a symbol used to distinguish similar quantities that differ in value, as in b ′, b ″, b ‴ (called b prime, b second or b double prime, b third or b triple prime, respectively).

    2. a symbol used to indicate a particular unit of measure, as feet (′) or inches (″), minutes (′) or seconds (″).

    3. a symbol used to indicate the order of a derivative of a function in calculus, as f′ (calledf prime ) is the first derivative of a function f.

12. words or tones expressive of some emotion.

13. accents, words; language; speech.

    He spoke in accents bold.

14. distinctive character or tone.

    an accent of whining complaint.

15. special attention, stress, or emphasis.

    an accent on accuracy.

16. a detail that is emphasized by contrasting with its surroundings.

    a room decorated in navy blue with two red vases as accents.

17. a distinctive but subordinate pattern, motif, color, flavor, or the like.

    The salad dressing had an accent of garlic.

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verb (used with object)

1. to pronounce with prominence (a syllable within a word or a word within a phrase).

   to accent the first syllable of “into”; to accent the first word of “White House.”

2. to mark with a written accent or accents.

3. to give emphasis or prominence to; accentuate.

accent British  

noun

1. the characteristic mode of pronunciation of a person or group, esp one that betrays social or geographical origin

2. the relative prominence of a spoken or sung syllable, esp with regard to stress or pitch Compare pitch 1 stress

3. a mark (such as ˈ , ˌ , ´ or `) used in writing to indicate the stress or prominence of a syllable. Such a mark may also be used to indicate that a written syllable is to be pronounced, esp when such pronunciation is not usual, as in turnèd

4. any of various marks or symbols conventionally used in writing certain languages to indicate the quality of a vowel, or for some other purpose, such as differentiation of homographs See acute grave 2 circumflex

5. (in some languages, such as Chinese) any of the tones that have phonemic value in distinguishing one word from another Compare tone

6. rhythmic stress in verse or prose

7. music

   1. stress placed on certain notes in a piece of music, indicated by a symbol printed over the note concerned

   2. the rhythmic pulse of a piece or passage, usually represented as the stress on the first beat of each bar See also syncopation

8. maths either of two superscript symbols indicating a specific unit, such as feet (′), inches (″), minutes of arc (′), or seconds of arc (″)

9. a distinctive characteristic of anything, such as taste, pattern, style, etc

10. particular attention or emphasis

    an accent on learning

11. a strongly contrasting detail

    a blue rug with red accents

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verb

1. to mark with an accent in writing, speech, music, etc

2. to lay particular emphasis or stress on

Other Word Forms

• accentless
  adjective
• accentuable
  adjective
• nonaccent
  noun
• nonaccented
  adjective
• nonaccenting
  adjective
• reaccent
  verb (used with object)
• well-accented
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of accent

1520–30; < Latin accentus speaking tone, equivalent to ac- ac- + -centus, combining form of cantus song ( see canto); translation of Greek prosōidía prosody

Explanation

An accent is a stress or emphasis on a particular part of something, usually a word. Pronounce the word "doofus" with the accent on the first syllable: DOO-fuss. Accent comes from the Latin accentus, which means "the intonation of singing." We use accent for different kinds of emphasis in speech. In some foreign languages, the mark above a letter is an accent that signals how to pronounce it. If you accent something, like the "t" on the end of your name, you highlight it. In music, an emphasized note is accented. A regional accent is the particular way that people from that place speak.

Example Sentences

Accent and idiom are firmly in command as she transitions from Southern Gothic to surrealist horror, never losing sight of a character who’s as fragile as she is formidable.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2025

"Accent change is often like a puddle: it dries up in most places and leave remnants around the edges, hence why Cornwall and East Lancs behave similarly here today."

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2023

Accent woes are as old as immigration itself.

From New York Times • Apr. 18, 2023

The case is Accent Delight International Ltd et al v Sotheby's et al, U.S.

From Reuters • Mar. 1, 2023

Accent whichever syllable you like, but the preference on this side of the Atlantic is to stress the second.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

Related Words

• cadence
• inflection
• pronunciation
• rhythm
• timbre
• tone