accent

accent — noun

1. the recognisable way someone speaks that reveals where they grew up or which soc

1.nounB1
Definition

the recognisable way someone speaks that reveals where they grew up or which social group they belong to, including their pronunciation and sometimes word choice.

Example

Amara has a soft Irish accent that makes everyone smile when she answers the phone.

have + [adjective] + [region] accent

After ten years in Tokyo, Tomás still speaks Japanese with a heavy Spanish accent.

speak [language] with a [region] accent

Common collocations
  • heavy accent
  • thick accent
  • strong accent
  • slight accent
  • lose one's accent
  • pick up an accent
  • regional accent
  • foreign accent
Synonyms
  • pronunciation

    broader; refers to how any word is said, not the regional pattern

  • dialect

    wider in scope — covers vocabulary and grammar, not just sound

  • twang

    informal; usually a nasal Southern American or country accent

  • brogue

    specifically an Irish or Scottish rural accent

Grammar Patterns

have a [region] accent

speak with a [region] accent

Usage Note

Often paired with adjectives describing region (Irish, French), strength (heavy, slight, thick), or social class (posh, working-class). Distinguish from sense 3 (STRESS): an accent is the overall sound of someone's speech, while stress falls on a single syllable.

Common Mistakes

She speaks with French accent.
She speaks with a French accent.
countable noun; needs an article.
He has a strong accent of New York.
He has a strong New York accent.
the place name comes before 'accent', not after with 'of'.

2. a tiny symbol like ´ or ` written just above a letter, signalling that the lette

2.nounB2
Definition

a tiny symbol like ´ or ` written just above a letter, signalling that the letter should sound different or carry the stress when read aloud.

Example

The word 'café' takes an accent on the final 'e' to show the vowel is pronounced.

take an accent on + [letter]

Beatriz forgot the accent on 'résumé', and her professor circled it in red ink.

Common collocations
  • acute accent
  • grave accent
  • circumflex accent
  • put an accent on
  • drop the accent
  • add an accent
Synonyms
  • diacritic

    more technical; covers any mark added to a letter, including dots and tildes

  • accent mark

    everyday equivalent; often used interchangeably

Grammar Patterns

acute/grave/circumflex accent

Usage Note

Often appears with the named type as a modifier: 'acute accent' (´), 'grave accent' (`), 'circumflex accent' (ˆ). Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a written mark you can see on the page, not a spoken sound.

Common Mistakes

Put accent above the letter e.
Put an accent above the letter e.
countable; needs an article.

3. the extra force or loudness given to one syllable inside a word, to a key word w

3.nounB2
Definition

the extra force or loudness given to one syllable inside a word, to a key word within a spoken sentence, or to a particular beat in poetry or music.

Example

In the word 'photograph', the accent falls on the first syllable, not the second.

accent falls on [syllable]

Move the accent from 'PHOtograph' to 'phoTOgrapher' and the sound of the word changes completely.

Common collocations
  • primary accent
  • secondary accent
  • shift the accent
  • place the accent on
  • rhythmic accent
Synonyms
  • stress

    near-synonym in linguistics; often more common in modern textbooks

  • emphasis

    broader; can refer to meaning or attention, not only syllables

  • beat

    preferred in poetry and music contexts

Grammar Patterns

accent falls on [syllable]

Usage Note

Verbs like 'fall on', 'put on', 'shift', and 'move' commonly govern this sense. Distinguish from sense 4 (MUSIC MARK): sense 3 is the stress itself; sense 4 is the symbol written above a note.

Common Mistakes

The accent is in the second syllable.
The accent is on the second syllable.
use 'on' for which syllable carries the stress.

4. a small symbol written above a note in sheet music, telling the player to hit th

4.noun
Definition

a small symbol written above a note in sheet music, telling the player to hit that note harder than the notes around it.

Example

The composer placed an accent above every downbeat to give the piece a strong march feel.

place an accent above [note]

Watch for the accents on the third beat of each bar, and play those notes with extra force.

Common collocations
  • place an accent
  • miss the accent
  • play the accent
  • marked with an accent
Synonyms
  • accent mark

    fully interchangeable in music contexts

  • stress mark

    less common; sometimes used in beginner music books

Usage Note

Found mainly in printed music. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is the written symbol on the page, while sense 3 is the audible stress that a performer produces.

5. a special focus or weight given to one quality, idea, or part of something, trea

5.noun
Definition

a special focus or weight given to one quality, idea, or part of something, treating it as the most important or noticeable feature.

Example

At our school, the accent is on creativity rather than memorising facts for exams.

the accent is on [quality]

The new menu places the accent on fresh local vegetables instead of imported meat.

place the accent on [thing]

Common collocations
  • put the accent on
  • place the accent on
  • the accent is on
  • with the accent on
Synonyms
  • emphasis

    more common in everyday speech; same meaning

  • focus

    very neutral; works in any register

  • stress

    interchangeable when meaning special importance

Grammar Patterns

the accent is on [noun]

place/put the accent on

Usage Note

Almost always used with prepositional 'on' + noun. The verb is 'put', 'place', or 'be': 'the accent is on quality'. Slightly formal; in everyday speech, 'emphasis' or 'focus' is more common.

Common Mistakes

The accent in this course is grammar.
The accent in this course is on grammar.
needs the preposition 'on'.

6. a small detail in a design — such as a bright colour, a piece of trim, or a sing

6.noun
Definition

a small detail in a design — such as a bright colour, a piece of trim, or a single object — added to draw the eye and stand out against everything around it.

Example

Amara painted the front door bright red as a cheerful accent against the grey stone wall.

as an accent against [background]

A few yellow cushions add a warm accent to the otherwise plain white sofa.

add a [colour] accent

Common collocations
  • accent wall
  • accent colour
  • accent piece
  • accent lighting
  • add an accent
  • bold accent
Synonyms
  • highlight

    broader; can also mean a bright bit of hair or a key moment

  • feature

    neutral; lacks the sense of contrast

  • touch

    informal: 'a touch of red'

Grammar Patterns

[colour/feature] accent

Usage Note

Common in interior design and fashion writing. Often modified by a colour or material word: 'red accent', 'gold accent', 'wooden accent'. Compound 'accent wall' (= a single wall painted a different colour) is very common in home design.

accent — verb

Word family

  • accented
    adjectiveC1
  • unaccented
    adjectiveC2
  • accentuate
    verbC1
  • accentuation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five describe how someone sounds when they speak, but they cover different things. 'Accent' is the most general — it points only at the sound pattern that reveals where someone grew up or which group they belong to (a French accent, a posh accent). 'Dialect' is wider: it covers vocabulary and grammar too, not just sound — Glaswegian dialect uses words and structures that other English speakers may not even recognise. 'Pronunciation' is narrower and neutral; it just means how a single word or sound is produced, with no regional or social meaning attached. 'Twang' is informal and almost always nasal — typical of country or southern American speech. 'Brogue' is reserved for an Irish or Scottish rural accent and often sounds warm or affectionate. So you might say: 'She has a New York accent (regional sound), but she only uses standard American English dialect (no special words), and her pronunciation of the word water is very clear.'

accent ↗dialect ↗pronunciation ↗twang ↗brogue

Common collocations

Nouns

  • accent mark
  • accent wall
  • accent colour
  • accent piece
  • accent reduction

Adverbs

  • heavily accented
  • lightly accented
  • strongly accented

Phrases

  • pick up an accent
  • lose one's accent
  • put on an accent
  • speak with an accent
  • drop the accent

Prepositions

  • accent on
  • with an accent
  • in someone's accent

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Accent reached English in the late 1300s from Old French 'accent', which itself came from Latin 'accentus', literally 'a singing added to (speech)'. Latin formed the word from 'ad-' (to, towards) and 'cantus' (singing, song) — the same root that gives us 'chant'. Roman writers used 'accentus' to translate the Greek 'prosōidía', meaning the musical pitch a syllable carried. The earliest English uses kept this technical sense of stress or pitch on a syllable; the meanings 'regional way of speaking' and 'special emphasis given to something' developed later, by the 1500s and 1600s respectively.