English words whose meaning is changed
by a difference in stress accent

"Combat" If you accent it on COM, it's a noun. If you accent it on BAT, it's a verb.
Here are additional examples of words which change from noun to verb because of the position of their accent.
If you accent the wrong syllable, you may not be understood.
The noun is accented on the first syllable; the verb on the second syllable.
Some people don't follow these rules. This adds greatly to the confusion.
We will add to these as we encounter more.

Pronunciation and Accent Improvement Courses in CT
Courses in American English/ESL in CT

Noun	Verb
ABstract	abstRACT
ACcent	acCENT
ADdict	adDICT
ADdress	adDRESS
ANnex	anNEX
ALly	alLY
ATtribute	atTRIBute
COMbat	comBAT
COMmune	comMUNE
COMpact	comPACT
COMpound	comPOUND
COMpress	comPRESS
CONduct	conDUCT
CONfines	conFINES
CONflict	conFLICT
CONscript	conSCRIPT
CONsort	conSORT
CONtract	conTRACT
CONtrast	conTRAST
CONverse	conVERSE
CONvert	conVERT
CONvict	conVICT
DEcrease	deCREASE
DEsert	deSERT
DEtail	deTAIL
DIScard	disCARD
DIScharge	disCHARGE
ENvelope	enVELope
EScort	esCORT
EXploit	exPLOIT
EXport	exPORT
EXtract	exTRACT
FInance	fiNANCE
FRAgment	fragMENT
IMpact	imPACT
IMprint	imPRINT
INcrease	inCREASE
INsert	inSERT
INsult	inSULT
MANdate	manDATE
OBject	obJECT
OVERcharge	overCHARGE
OVERwork	overWORK
PERmit	perMIT
PERvert	perVERT
PREfix	preFIX
PREsent	preSENT
PROceeds	proCEEDS
PROcess	proCESS
PROduce	proDUCE
PROgress	proGRESS
PROject	proJECT
PROtest	proTEST
RAMpage	ramPAGE
REBel	reBEL
REcap	reCAP
REcall	reCALL
REcord	reCORD
REfill	reFILL
REfund	reFUND
REfuse	refUSE
REject	reJECT
REplay	rePLAY
SUBject	subJECT
SURvey	surVEY
SUSpect	susPECT
TORment	torMENT
TRANSfer	transFER
TRANSplant	transPLANT
TRANSport	transPORT
UPset	upSET
Adjective	Verb
ABsent	abSENT
FREquent	freQUENT
PERfect	perFECT
Adjective	Noun
inVALid	INvalid
miNUTE (my noot)	MInute (min it)
comPLEX	COMplex

If this isn't enough, there are words whose different meanings are distinguished by a change in sound of one of the letters. (Voicing).

Abuse, with the S sounding like S in See, is a noun.
Abuse, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, is a verb.

Close, with the S sounding like S in See, is an adjective.
Close, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, is a verb.

Excuse, with the S sounding like S in See, is a noun.
Excuse, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, is a verb.

House, with the S sounding like S in See, is a noun.
House, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, is a verb.

Use, with the S sounding like S in See, is a noun.
Use, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, is a verb.

I used to smoke, with the S in used sounding like S in See, means "I smoked in the past. I don't now".
I used a hammer, with the S sounding like Z in Zebra, means "I did something by means of a hammer".

It gets worse. There are words which have different meanings shown by different pronunciations.

Advocate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Advocate, rhyming with hit, is a noun

Approximate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Approximate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective

Articulate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Articulate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective and a noun

Associate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Associate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective and a noun

Bass, with the a of cat, is a type of fish
Bass, with the a of face, means "with a low frequency tone"

Bow, with the o of bone, is used with a violin, also for shooting arrows
Bow, rhymes with cow, is a verb - what an actor does after a performance, what a dog does

Deliberate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Deliberate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective

Does, rhymes with fuzz, is a verb
Does, rhymes with rose, = female deer

Dove, with the o of bone, is a verb, the past tense of dive
Dove, rhymes with love, = bird

Duplicate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Duplicate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective and a noun

Elaborate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Elaborate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective

Graduate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Graduate, rhyming with hit, is a noun

Live, with the i of hit, is a verb
Live, with the i of five, is an adjective

Moderate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Moderate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective

Polish, written with a capital P and the O sounding like O in bOne, is an adjective of nationality.
polish, written with a small p and the O sounding like O in hOt, is a verb or a noun.

Separate, rhyming with rate, is a verb
Separate, rhyming with hit, is an adjective

Tear, rhymes with where, is a verb
Tear, rhymes with near, is a noun

Wind, with the i of five, is a verb
Wind, with the i of hit, is a noun

Wound, with au of found, (ah-oo) is a verb
Wound, with the oo of food, is a noun

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