compression

[ kuhm-presh-uhn ]

noun

1. the act of compressing:

   When performing CPR, give 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute.

2. the state of being compressed, or the effect, result, or consequence of being compressed:

   Compression of the nerves can lead to tingling and numbness farther down the arm.

3. (in internal-combustion engines) the reduction in volume and increase of pressure of the air or combustible mixture in the cylinder prior to ignition, produced by the motion of the piston toward the cylinder head after intake.
4. Also called data compression. Computers. reduction of the storage space required for data by changing its format.

adjective

1. Computers. relating to the process of reducing the storage space required for data by changing its format:

   Experiments show that this approach can effectively improve the compression ratio of existing codes.

2. being or relating to a type of medical garment that provides pressure and support, reduces swelling, promotes circulation, holds tissue in place, etc.:

   Ask your doctor if compression stockings would help the swelling in your legs.

   After surgery, it may be necessary to wear a compression garment.

   Compression sleeves are an important part of lymphedema management.

compression

/ kəmˈprɛʃən /

noun

1. Also calledcompressurekəmˈprɛʃə the act of compressing or the condition of being compressed
2. an increase in pressure of the charge in an engine or compressor obtained by reducing its volume

compression

/ kəm-prĕsh′ən /

1. A force that tends to shorten or squeeze something, decreasing its volume.
2. The degree to which a substance has decreased in size (in volume, length, or some other dimension) after being or while being subject to stress.
3. See also strain
4. The re-encoding of data (usually the binary data used by computers) into a form that uses fewer bits of information than the original data. Compression is often used to speed the transmission of data such as text or visual images, or to minimize the memory resources needed to store such data.

compression

1. See data compression .

Other Words From

• com·pres·sion·al adjective
• non·com·pres·sion noun
• o·ver·com·pres·sion noun
• pre·com·pres·sion noun
• su·per·com·pres·sion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of compression¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin compressiōn-, stem of compressiō; equivalent to compress + -ion

Example Sentences

They’re great options for people who are advised to wear compression socks all the time, as they can work with many shoe types and across seasons.

From Popular-Science

In simulations and experiments, they saw the bio-inspired lattice withstand the most stress — first from compression in one direction, and then from opposing pressures at three points in another test — before breaking.

From Quanta Magazine

When comparing each runner’s highest-deviation shoe to his or her lowest-deviating shoe, the high-deviating shoe produced significantly greater cartilage compression in the medial-tibial area of the knee joint.

From Outside Online

Don’t forget to also check on compression, caching, and, importantly, image file sizes.

From Search Engine Watch

One of the most promising so far, Silver said, is video compression, where there are many different ways to compress a video signal, but no clear rules about which one is best for different kinds of video.

From Fortune

“Indeed, what had it gotten us, this violent compression of politics and celebrity and moral policing,” Bai writes.

From The Daily Beast

For example, bodies recovered from Air France Flight 447 that crashed into the south Atlantic revealed severe spinal compression.

From The Daily Beast

AT T also sold another one of his projects,  DjVu, an image compression technology which he thinks could have competed with PDF.

From The Daily Beast

A short-story writer (his “The Evils of Spain” could be read along with this book), Pritchett was a master of compression.

From The Daily Beast

Allen Guelzo's new history of the civil war, Fateful Lightning, is a masterpiece of compression.

From The Daily Beast

Should it fail, the fluid can generally be pumped out by alternate compression of the tube and the bulb.

From Project Gutenberg

This compression will be vastly increased through the simultaneous opening of the eight circular speaking ports SP.

From Project Gutenberg

In the experiment with the cylinder above described, the compression is due to mechanical energy, a force of another nature.

From Project Gutenberg

The concrete not only affords much of the strength to resist compression, but effectively protects the steel from corrosion.

From Project Gutenberg

For masonry, brick or concrete the arch subjected throughout to compression is the most natural form.

From Project Gutenberg