The #1 rule: English compound nouns stress the first element. Master this pattern for bug reports, pull requests, feature flags, deadlocks, and more.
Compound noun vs. adjective+noun stress
Compound noun → stress the FIRST word: BUG report, PULL request, CODE review
Adjective + noun → stress the SECOND word: a detailed rePORT, an urgent reQUEST
Phrasal verb noun split:SET-up (noun) vs. set UP (verb)
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
A developer says: "The feature flag is enabled in production." Which stress pattern is correct for the compound noun "feature flag"?
Feature flag — "FEAture flag":
The English compound noun stress rule: stress the first element.
"Feature flag" is a compound noun, so the primary stress falls on the first word: FEA-ture flag.
The word "feature" alone stresses its first syllable: FEA-ture. In the compound, FEA remains the primary stress point.
Common IT compound nouns — all follow the first-element rule:
Compound
Stress
feature flag
FEAture flag
bug report
BUG report
code review
CODE review
pull request
PULL request
stack trace
STACK trace
load balancer
LOAD balancer
2 / 5
Which sentence uses the correct stress for setup vs set up?
Setup (noun) vs. set up (verb) — the compound noun/phrasal verb split:
Noun (one word or hyphenated):SET-up — "The SET-up is complete." → stress on SET Verb (two words): set UP — "Please set UP the environment." → stress on UP
This is the compound noun stress rule in action. When the verb becomes a noun, it is written as one word and stressed on the first element.
More noun/verb compound pairs in IT:
Noun form
Verb form
SET-up (the setup)
set UP (to set up)
LOG-in (the login)
log IN (to log in)
SHUT-down (the shutdown)
shut DOWN (to shut down)
ROLL-back (the rollback)
roll BACK (to roll back)
BACK-up (the backup)
back UP (to back up)
3 / 5
A DevOps engineer says: "We have a dead lock in the database transactions." How should "deadlock" be stressed?
Deadlock — "DEAD lock":
As a compound noun, "deadlock" stresses the first element: DEAD lock.
Why first-element stress? In English compound nouns, the first element identifies the type or nature of the thing, and it carries the primary stress. This pattern is completely consistent for IT compound nouns:
DEAD-lock — a situation where two processes block each other
DEAD-letter — code or a queue that no longer receives messages
More deadlock-type IT compound nouns:
RACE condition — "a RACE condition in the scheduler"
MEMORY leak — "a MEM-ory leak in the service"
THREAD pool — "the THREAD pool is exhausted"
CACHE miss — "a CACHE miss on every request"
HEARTbeat — "the HEART-beat check failed"
Tip: If you can draw a box around the two words and they form a single concept, stress the first one.
4 / 5
In a sprint review: "The TypeScript migration is 80% complete." How is "TypeScript" stressed?
TypeScript — "TYPE-script":
As a compound noun (a type of script/language), "TypeScript" stresses the first element: TYPE-script.
Note: Always verify with community usage — some branding intentionally differs. But compound noun first-element stress is the safe default.
5 / 5
A team lead discusses process: "Let's schedule a code review for tomorrow morning." Compare the stress in "code review" (compound noun) vs. "code the review" (verb phrase). Which statement is correct?
"CODE review" (compound noun) vs. verb phrase stress:
Compound noun:CODE review — "Schedule a CODE review." → Stress on first element: CODE
Verb phrase (adjective + noun): "a thorough re-VIEW" → Stress on the head noun being modified: re-VIEW
Why the difference? In a compound noun, the two words have merged into a single concept — you stress the first element. In an adjective+noun phrase, you stress the main noun (the second element).
Test: is it a compound noun or adjective+noun?
"CODE review" = a type of review → compound noun → stress first word
"a quick reVIEW" = an adjective modifying review → adjective+noun → stress second word
Practice identifying compound nouns vs. adjective+noun:
"PULL request" (compound) vs. "an urgent re-QUEST" (adjective+noun)
"BUG report" (compound) vs. "a detailed re-PORT" (adjective+noun)
"FEATURE branch" (compound) vs. "the main BRANCH" (adjective+noun)