compress

American  

[kuhm-pres, kom-pres] / kəmˈprɛs, ˈkɒm prɛs /

verb (used with object)

1. to press together; force into less space.

   Synonyms:

   constrict, squeeze, condense

   Antonyms:

   lay, expand

2. to cause to become a solid mass.

   to compress cotton into bales.

3. to condense, shorten, or abbreviate.

   The book was compressed by 50 pages.

4. Computers. to reduce the storage space required for (data) by changing its format.

   The algorithm should compress the video file without losing any quality.

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noun

1. Medicine/Medical. a soft, cloth pad held in place by a bandage and used to provide pressure or to supply moisture, cold, heat, or medication.

2. an apparatus for compressing cotton bales.

3. a warehouse for storing cotton bales before shipment.

compress British  

verb

1. (tr) to squeeze together or compact into less space; condense

2. computing to apply a compression program to (electronic data) so that it takes up less space

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noun

1. a wet or dry cloth or gauze pad with or without medication, applied firmly to some part of the body to relieve discomfort, reduce fever, drain a wound, etc

2. a machine for packing material, esp cotton, under pressure

Related Words

See contract.

Other Word Forms

• compressible
  adjective
• compressibleness
  noun
• compressibly
  adverb
• compressingly
  adverb
• noncompressible
  adjective
• overcompress
  verb (used with object)
• precompress
  verb (used with object)
• uncompressible
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of compress

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English (< Middle French compresser ) < Late Latin compressāre, frequentative of Latin comprimere to squeeze together ( see com-, press ¹); (noun) < Middle French compresse, noun derivative of the v.

Explanation

The noun compress refers to a pad that's held to your body to reduce pain or symptoms of illness. A washcloth dipped in cold water and pressed onto your forehead to help you cool down is a type of compress. As a verb, compress means to squeeze together with a fair amount of pressure. When you compress a sponge to get all the water out, you press it between your palms or squish it between your fingers. Compress can also mean to make something more compact — as with the sponge, when you compress an object it gets smaller. You could even compress a speech by cutting it down into a shorter but equally effective version.

Example Sentences

Compress Chicago down to one neighborhood and you might find the 49th Ward.

From New York Times • Apr. 2, 2023

Compress a handful of garden soil into a ball.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 11, 2023

In Columbia, the company is now leasing the Palmetto Compress, a former cotton warehouse, after creating 200 apartments for the local student population.

From New York Times • Jun. 6, 2017

Step six: Compress your body, and keep your weight centered over the middle of your board.

From Time Magazine Archive

But when the Burn has blistered, a Compress of very fine Linen, spread over with the Pomatum, Nº.

From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David)

Related Words

• abbreviate
• constrict
• cram
• restrict
• shorten
• shrink
• squeeze
• wrap