accent

American  

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

noun

accents plural

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)

accents, present (3rd person singular) accented, past participle, past accenting present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• accents
  plural

Participles

• accenting
  present
• accented
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• accent
  simple
• accents
  simple
• have accented
  perfect
• has accented
  perfect
• am accenting
  progressive
• are accenting
  progressive
• is accenting
  progressive
• have been accenting
  perfect progressive
• has been accenting
  perfect progressive

Past

• accented
  simple
• had accented
  perfect
• was accenting
  progressive
• were accenting
  progressive
• had been accenting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will accent
  simple
• will have accented
  perfect
• will be accenting
  progressive
• will have been accenting
  perfect progressive

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

See Examples For:

accent accents accented accenting

Marie Goldman, Lib Dem MP for Chelmsford and spokesperson for women and equalities, said that growing up in Devon, teachers told her to tone down her West Country accent for Bible readings.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The former social mobility minister said she believed not having the right accent was still too often a barrier to progress, adding: "A regional accent must never be seen as a badge of shame."

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

“And I did my Rogue voice, which is basically just my own, but with a bit of a Southern accent thrown on,” she adds with a slight twang.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Ricky Ricardo on “I Love Lucy” had an accent, but Ricky and Lucy were as American as Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

“You’ve got no worries, Olivia,” Mother said, using an Australian accent.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Sentinels stand on the plot’s four corners: kousa dogwood, favored for its red accents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

This included their attempts at British accents as they declared the evening to be "absolutely wicked".

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

It’s not just their goony sense of humor that compels them to make silly intro videos and do funny accents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

Five eyeball-style air vents, with illuminated bezels and metallic accents, are arrayed across the dash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

I could still hear the sound of voices speaking English in the soft accents of the Luo language, urging me to feel free, feel free, eat more fat from the ram’s tail.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Their fins are accented with orange, and they possess a smaller oval tooth patch.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 23, 2026

This 1898 divertissement by Marius Petipa, to the melodious music of Alexander Glazunov, is accented with moves shaped by Hungarian folk dance and has long been a staple of various classical ballet companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

The spacious kitchen is also accented with rich hardwood flooring, stone design elements, solid alder doors, and dual-pane windows.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2025

Baldwin — a formerly accented yoga teacher who with husband Alec Baldwin and their seven baby “Baldwinitos” stars on, not surprisingly, “The Baldwins” — is only part of the cast’s reality TV contingent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025

His voice thrust sweet and sour, and he accented the “dear.”

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Compared to the toolbox angularity of its rivals, the CX-90’s presentation is sleek, urbane, even fancy, with lots of brightwork accenting the front and rear bumpers, rocker panels and grille frame.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

At multiple points, massive explosions shook the ground, accenting the roar of the fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024

Three-dimensional roses of all sizes appeared throughout the collection, accenting necklines and adorning shoulders.

From Reuters ● Jul. 4, 2023

Elegant landscaping and pathways, brick patio with gravel and rock accenting, mature trees, two-car carport.

From Washington Times ● May 25, 2023

Harley’s words were becoming disjointed and he was accenting the words at the beginning and swallowing the ending sounds until it didn’t sound like English any more.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Related Words

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