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 ( com-, press ¹ ); (noun) < Middle French compresse, noun derivative of the v.

Example Sentences

She acknowledged that she would face a compressed time frame for raising money if she runs for mayor.

From Los Angeles Times

The near-instantaneous merging of internal data, web research and customer feedback compresses weeks of analysis into minutes of execution.

From The Wall Street Journal

The drop in prices has compressed margins, as mining economics work against producers in a downturn when network difficulty continues to rise, driving energy and computing costs up while the value of mined coins declines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Valuations are certainly compressed; the average multiple of companies on the IGV index has collapsed from 39 times forward earnings to about 21 times now, according to data from FactSet.

From The Wall Street Journal

The key signal from here is not whether gold or silver bounce, but whether volatility compresses.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

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