compressed
Americanadjective
-
pressed into less space; condensed.
compressed gases.
- Antonyms:
- expanded
-
pressed together.
compressed lips.
-
flattened by or as if by pressure.
compressed wallboard.
-
Zoology, Botany. flattened laterally.
adjective
-
squeezed together or condensed
-
(of the form of flatfishes, certain plant parts, etc) flattened laterally along the whole length
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of compressed
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at compress, -ed 2
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.
The “Criminal Minds” star also underwent multiple spinal surgeries to manage cauda equina syndrome, a rare condition in which nerve bundle in the lumbar or sacral spine are compressed or not functioning properly.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
Although it cannot be seen directly, researchers suspected it might be a white dwarf, a dense stellar remnant with a mass similar to the Sun but compressed into a size comparable to Earth.
From Science Daily • May 1, 2026
That’s a civilizational re-plumbing on the scale of railroads and electrification combined, compressed into a single decade.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Aviation fundamentally compressed space and time, turning grueling ocean and train voyages into routine daytime flights.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
You become compressed in the direction of motion, your mass increases, and time, as you experience it, slows down, a breathtaking consequence of traveling close to the speed of light called time dilation.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
