Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to worry, to panic, to lose control; also as excl.; thus stressy adj.

1989		P. Munro Sl. U. 182: Janice began to stress before her two midterms.
1995		A. Heckerling Clueless [film script] I mean, he’s just like this slug who hangs around the house all the time. And he’s a hideous dancer, I couldn’t take him anywhere. Wait a second, what am I stressing about?
1999		Eble Campus Sl. Nov. 12: stressy – stressed out.
2003		A.N. LeBlanc Random Family 124: I was stressing. I didn’t handle it too good.
2004		L. Redhead Peepshow [ebook] That’s all right, mate, don’t stress.
2011		G. Hayward Corruption Officer [ebk] cap. 28: I am not stressing because I made Flocko give me all of the pouches so that I can put them in the places that I knew that they were not going to search.
2012		G. Johnstone ‘No Through Road’ in Crime Factory: Hard Labour [ebook] Don’t stress mate, it’s all good.
2015		J. Stahl OG Dad 221: Much as I love seeing my baby girl getting a taste of art and music — what I’m really doing is stressing over the brain-cancery radiation emitted by the TV.
2015		67 ‘Hookahs’ 🎵 My nigga got guilty, he’s stressing.

2. (US campus) to work hard.

1989

Eble Campus Sl. Mar. 8: stress – study a lot.

3. to challenge, to cause irritation for someone.

1994

UGK ‘Three Sixteens’ 🎵 For any niggas that wanna test, come up and stress these three muthafuckin sixteens!