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• stress test
  stress test

  noun

  a test, especially one conducted in a laboratory, to determine how much pressure, tension, wear, or the like a given product or material can withstand.
• stress-test
  stress-test

  verb (used with object)

  to subject to a stress test.

stress test

¹ American  

noun

1. a test, especially one conducted in a laboratory, to determine how much pressure, tension, wear, or the like a given product or material can withstand.

2. Medicine/Medical. a test of cardiovascular health made by recording heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and other parameters while a person undergoes physical exertion.

3. a simulation test to determine how a given institution, system, etc., would perform under greater than usual stresses or pressures.

   the government’s stress test for big banks;

   mandatory stress tests for nuclear plants;

   a website stress test that simulates peak traffic.

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stress-test ² American  

[stres-test] / ˈstrɛsˌtɛst /

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to a stress test.

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Other Word Forms

• stress-testing
  noun

Etymology

Origin of stress test

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stress test stress-test

The next big chapter in the AI narrative, the next stress test for the industry and its capex plans, is looming as results for the hyperscalers start to appear from July 22.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

As Americans marked the 250th anniversary of independence, the nation’s largest planned celebration unfolded less like a unified commemoration and more like a stress test — of weather, logistics and competing visions of patriotism.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

The conflict has functioned as an accelerated stress test, compressing years of operational learning into months and validating or refuting assumptions about real-world system performance.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

Plus, big banks ace an annual stress test, and more bald men shake their heads at hair transplants and toupees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

In March 2004, his doctor suggested a stress test after Miele complained of shortness of breath.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

But heatwaves are a "stress-test" for women's cardiovascular systems, and hit them harder than men, Dr Nighat Arif, an NHS GP who specialises in women's health, told the BBC.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

“We can stress-test our way into never retiring,” Carroll said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

It’s important to stress-test your financial plan and projections to make sure you can withstand years when the stock market is flat or down, Downing said.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 9, 2026

And she advises her to play around with online retirement-planning tools to stress-test scenarios such as a job loss, health events and living to 100.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

With Anthropic, another major AI startup, you will stress-test the AI “agent” idea in the most journalistically responsible way possible: by putting a bot-powered vending machine in a newsroom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026