pressure

[presh-er]

noun

1. the exertion of force upon a surface by an object, fluid, etc., in contact with it.

   the pressure of earth against a wall.

2. Physics.,  force per unit area. P

3. Meteorology.,  atmospheric pressure.

4. Electricity.,  electromotive force.

5. the state of being pressed or compressed.

6. harassment; oppression.

   the pressures of daily life.

7. a constraining or compelling force or influence.

   the social pressures of city life;

   financial pressure.

8. urgency, as of affairs or business.

   He works well under pressure.

9. Obsolete.,  that which is impressed.

verb (used with object)

pressured, pressuring 

1. to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence.

   They pressured him into accepting the contract.

2. pressurize.

pressure

/ ˈprɛʃə /

noun

1. the state of pressing or being pressed

2. the exertion of force by one body on the surface of another

3. a moral force that compels

   to bring pressure to bear

4. an urgent claim or demand or series of urgent claims or demands

   to work under pressure

5. a burdensome condition that is hard to bear

   the pressure of grief

6. p.  P. the normal force applied to a unit area of a surface, usually measured in pascals (newtons per square metre), millibars, torr, or atmospheres

7. short for atmospheric pressure blood pressure

verb

1. (tr) to constrain or compel, as by the application of moral force

2. another word for pressurize

pressure

1. The force per unit area that one region of a gas, liquid, or solid exerts on another. Pressure is usually measured in Pascal units, atmospheres, or pounds per square inch.

2. ◆ A substance is said to have negative pressure if some other substance exerts more force per unit area on it than vice versa. Its value is simply the negative of the pressure exerted by the other substance.

pressure

1. The force exerted on a given area. (See atmospheric pressure.)

The most familiar measure of pressure is psi (pounds per square inch), used to rate pressure in automobile and bicycle tires.

Other Word Forms

• pressureless adjective
• interpressure adjective
• nonpressure noun
• superpressure noun
• underpressure noun
• unpressured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pressure¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English (noun), from Latin pressūra; press ¹, -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of pressure¹

C14: from Late Latin pressūra a pressing, from Latin premere to press

Example Sentences

Airbus executives had previously said that challenges, especially with Spirit, were pressuring plans to increase production of A220s and A350 wide-body aircraft.

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Spare capacity, or slack, can exert downward pressure on prices, and squeeze corporate profit margins.

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Traditionally, diamond production involves converting carbon at enormous pressures and temperatures, where the diamond form is stable, or by using chemical vapor deposition, where it is not.

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While a larger, more complex brain likely played an important role, social pressures may also have contributed.

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And as an artist, she’s glad that, even as a 16-year-old just beginning her career, she never gave in to the pressure to cheer up her tracks.

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Related Words

• adversity 
• burden 
• constraint 
• force 
• hardship 
• heat 
• influence 
• power 
• strain 
• stress 
• tension 
• trouble 
• weight