compressibility
Americannoun
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the quality or state of being compressible.
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Physics. the reciprocal of the bulk modulus, equal to the ratio of the fractional change in volume to the stress applied to a body.
noun
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the ability to be compressed
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k. physics the reciprocal of the bulk modulus; the ratio of volume strain to stress at constant temperature
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of compressibility
First recorded in 1685–95; compressible ( def. ) + -ity
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.
Other properties, including compressibility and heat capacity, also behave in increasingly unusual ways as the temperature decreases.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
Properties such as density, heat capacity, viscosity, and compressibility respond to temperature and pressure in ways that are opposite to what scientists see in typical substances.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
Water is unlike most other liquids on Earth: it has at least 66 weird properties, including high surface tension, high heat capacity, high melting and boiling points and low compressibility.
From Nature • Apr. 7, 2020
This behavior is reflected by the “dips” in several of the compressibility curves shown in Figure 9.35.
From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019
His first significant contribution to science concerned the springiness, or compressibility, of air, and involved the most famous experiment of his illustrious career.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
