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compress

[ verb kuhm-pres; noun kom-pres ]
/ verb kəmˈprɛs; noun ˈkɒm prɛs /
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See synonyms for: compress / compressed / compressing on Thesaurus.com
verb (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
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Origin of compress

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English (<Middle French compresser) <Late Latin compressāre, frequentative of Latin comprimere to squeeze together (see com-, press1); (noun) <Middle French compresse, noun derivative of the v.

synonym study for compress

1. See contract.

OTHER WORDS FROM compress

Words nearby compress

comprehend, comprehensible, comprehension, comprehensive, comprehensive school, compress, compressed, compressed air, compressed speech, compressibility, compression
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to compress

abbreviate, constrict, cram, restrict, shorten, shrink, squeeze, wrap, abridge, abstract, bind, coagulate, concentrate, consolidate, contract, cramp, crowd, crush, decrease, dehydrate

How to use compress in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for compress

compress
verb (kəmˈprɛs)
(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 (ˈkɒmprɛs)
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

Derived forms of compress

compressible, adjectivecompressibleness, nouncompressibly, adverb

Word Origin for compress

C14: from Late Latin compressāre, from Latin comprimere, from premere to press
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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