compressed
Americanadjective
-
pressed into less space; condensed.
compressed gases.
- Antonyms:
- expanded
-
pressed together.
compressed lips.
-
flattened by or as if by pressure.
compressed wallboard.
-
Zoology, Botany. flattened laterally.
adjective
-
squeezed together or condensed
-
(of the form of flatfishes, certain plant parts, etc) flattened laterally along the whole length
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of compressed
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at compress, -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The “Criminal Minds” star also underwent multiple spinal surgeries to manage cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition in which nerve bundle in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
"And if they both went off together, then you've got potentially San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver all in an emergency situation in a compressed timeframe."
From Science Daily • May 2, 2026
That’s a civilizational re-plumbing on the scale of railroads and electrification combined, compressed into a single decade.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Musk did not give a timeline for the Terafab's output, and has previously promised grand results from other projects on compressed time scales.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
The field was gathering, and the space around them compressed.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
