compress
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to press together; force into less space.
-
to cause to become a solid mass.
to compress cotton into bales.
-
to condense, shorten, or abbreviate.
The book was compressed by 50 pages.
-
Computers. to reduce the storage space required for (data) by changing its format.
The algorithm should compress the video file without losing any quality.
noun
-
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.
-
an apparatus for compressing cotton bales.
-
a warehouse for storing cotton bales before shipment.
verb
-
(tr) to squeeze together or compact into less space; condense
-
computing to apply a compression program to (electronic data) so that it takes up less space
noun
-
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
-
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Margins were compressed by Nike’s efforts to clean out old inventory and bring in new products.
From Barron's
By compressing the refrigerant, you boost that heat further.
From BBC
A large wallet can tilt your pelvis and compress your sciatic nerve.
From Science Daily
Margins, especially, could be at risk, compressed by a combination of new store openings, tariffs, and elevated markdowns, he said.
From Barron's
That makes it harder for delivery platforms to match Amazon’s price and speed without compressing their own margins.
From Barron's
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.
