com·press

(kəm-prĕs′)

tr.v. com·pressed, com·press·ing, com·press·es

1. To press together: compressed her lips.

2. To make more compact by or as if by pressing.

3. Computers To encode (data) to minimize the space required for storage or transmittal: compressed the file so that it could be downloaded more quickly.

n. (kŏm′prĕs′)

1. Medicine A soft pad of gauze or other material applied with pressure to a part of the body to control hemorrhage or to supply heat, cold, moisture, or medication to alleviate pain or reduce infection.

2. A machine for compressing material.

[Middle English compressen, from Old French compresser, from Late Latin compressāre, frequentative of Latin comprimere : com-, com- + premere, to press; see per- in Indo-European roots.]

com·press′i·bil′i·ty n.

com·press′i·ble (kəm-prĕs′ə-bəl) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

compressing - applying pressure

compression

pressing, pressure, press - the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; "he gave the button a press"; "he used pressure to stop the bleeding"; "at the pressing of a button"

squeeze, squeezing - the act of gripping and pressing firmly; "he gave her cheek a playful squeeze"

condensing, condensation - the act of increasing the density of something

compaction, crunch, crush - the act of crushing

constriction - the action or process of compressing

Translations

компримирование

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He endeavoured to pronounce the name, but could not manage it; and compressing his mouth he held a silent combat with his inward agony, defying, meanwhile, my sympathy with an unflinching, ferocious stare.

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Indeed, I believe that there is an opportunity for a new form of novel, in which the novelist, as well as the reader, will skip all the dull people, and merely indicate such of them as are necessary to the action by an outline or a symbol, compressing their familiar psychology, and necessary plot-interferences with the main characters, into recognised formulae.

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The yearning memories, the bitter regret, the agonized sympathy, the struggling appeals to the Invisible Right--all the intense emotions which had filled the days and nights of the past week, and were compressing themselves again like an eager crowd into the hours of this single morning, made Adam look back on all the previous years as if they had been a dim sleepy existence, and he had only now awaked to full consciousness.

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