compress

[ verb kuhm-pres; noun kom-pres ]

/ verb kəmˈprɛs; noun ˈkɒm prɛs /

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

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.

Nearby words

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.

SYNONYMS FOR compress

1. condense, squeeze, constrict.

ANTONYMS FOR compress

1. expand, spread.

Related forms

com·press·i·ble, adjectivecom·press·i·bly, adverbcom·press·ing·ly, adverbnon·com·pres·si·ble, adjective

o·ver·com·press, verb (used with object)pre·com·press, verb (used with object)un·com·press·i·ble, adjective

Synonym study

1. See contract.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for compressible

A very frequent pulse is nearly always feeble and compressible.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various
The pulse is feeble and compressible; the temperature seldom more than one or two degrees above the normal standard.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various
About mid-day the pulse has come down to 80; and though feeble and compressible is a very respectable pulse.
Notes on Nursing|Florence Nightingale
Every stick of wood, every compressible part of her structure and of her cargo, must have been staved in or flattened.
Inventions of the Great War|A. Russell (Alexander Russell) Bond

The heart, at first rapid and full, becomes weak and compressible.
The Home Medical Library, Volume I (of VI)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for compressible

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 Formscompressible, 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

Word Origin and History for compressible

compress

late 14c., "to press (something) together," from Old French compresser "compress, put under pressure," from Latin compressare "to press together," frequentative of comprimere "to squeeze," from com- "together" (see com-) + premere "to press" (see press (v.1)). Related: Compressed; compressing.

compress

1590s in the surgical sense, from compress (v.).

Medicine definitions for compressible

compress

[ kŏm′prĕs′ ]

n.

A soft pad of gauze or other material applied with pressure to a part of the body to control hemorrhage or to supply heat, cold, moisture, or medication to alleviate pain or reduce infection.

v.

To press or squeeze together.