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.
Quickly he covered the whole wound with a large cotton compress and jerked his hand away.
From Literature
One can imagine a race of advanced space aliens who could compress a portion of this network into a zipped file of bits and hum it to each other like two dial-up modems.
From Literature
She pressed down on the handle to compress the chamber, which pumped air into the kiln.
From Literature
She swept my hair aside and pressed the cold compress to my forehead.
From Literature
Next he began binding the compress in place with a roll of gauze.
From Literature
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.
