compress

[kuhm-pres, kom-pres]

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.

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of compress¹

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of compress¹

C14: from Late Latin compressāre, from Latin comprimere, from premere to press

Synonym Study

See contract.

Example Sentences

If Reeves presents credible fiscal measures that raise revenue without sparking a backlash from other Labour lawmakers then some of that premium could compress, although it probably won’t disappear altogether, he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

China compressed that timeline dramatically through AI automation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Within just nine hours, the plasmasphere was compressed to roughly one-fifth of its usual size.

Read more on Science Daily

FuZE-3 is also the first system from Zap to use a third electrode, which allows the mechanisms responsible for accelerating and compressing the plasma to be controlled independently.

Read more on Science Daily

If poorer children of all races tended to move up, and richer children tended to drift down, the process would gradually compress racial income differences.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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