compressed

[kuhm-prest]

adjective

1. pressed into less space; condensed.

   compressed gases.

   Antonyms: expanded

2. pressed together.

   compressed lips.

3. flattened by or as if by pressure.

   compressed wallboard.

4. Zoology, Botany.,  flattened laterally.

compressed

/ kəmˈprɛst /

adjective

1. squeezed together or condensed

2. (of the form of flatfishes, certain plant parts, etc) flattened laterally along the whole length

Other Word Forms

• compressedly adverb
• subcompressed adjective
• uncompressed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compressed¹

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; compress, -ed ²

Example Sentences

Entire cities have been lost, “the land beneath them compressed and lowered, so they did not drain, but persisted like glacial lakes.”

From Los Angeles Times

Lossless audio files allow for listeners to stream music using the least compressed and highest resolution audio formats can have, the company said.

From Los Angeles Times

Historical scholarship on the draft riots is intensive and disputatious; my only concluding point is that they seem to contain all the most painful and contradictory lessons of our nation’s history in compressed form.

From Salon

“I’m going to have to go with Chuck because he’s so emotionally compressed,” the singer-songwriter said when asked for a favorite.

From Los Angeles Times

These lenses contained a fluid-filled membrane, which when compressed in response to dial adjustments would alter its curvature.

From BBC

Related Words

• arranged www.thesaurus.com
• congested 
• crowded 
• filled www.thesaurus.com
• jam-packed 
• jammed www.thesaurus.com
• loaded 
• overflowing www.thesaurus.com
• overloaded www.thesaurus.com
• stuffed 
• swarming www.thesaurus.com
• wrapped