pressing

American  

[pres-ing] / ˈprɛs ɪŋ /

adjective

1. urgent; demanding immediate attention.

   a pressing need.

   Synonyms:

   imperative, critical, vital, crucial

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noun

1. any phonograph record produced in a record-molding press from a master or a stamper.

2. a number of such records produced at one time.

   The fifth pressing of his hit song has sold out.

pressing British  

/ ˈprɛsɪŋ /

adjective

1. demanding immediate attention

2. persistent or importunate

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noun

1. a large specified number of gramophone records produced at one time from a master record

2. a component formed in a press

3. football the tactic of trying to stay very close to the opposition when they are in possession of the ball

Other Word Forms

• nonpressing adjective
• pressingly adverb
• pressingness noun

Etymology

Origin of pressing

1300–50; Middle English presing (gerund); press ¹, -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

The most pressing issue was that the basketball team had about $500,000 in its NIL coffers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Americans face a crisis of violence, yes, but the crisis of compassion is just as pressing.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

Thick layers of dust smother giant grinding and pressing machines, while only a tiny crew of workers transfer the last batch made three weeks ago off snaking assembly lines and into trucks.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Amid it all, I remember a nurse pressing two fingers rhythmically into Jane’s small chest.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

This time I did not pull away as she placed something bulky and cold into the palm of my hand and closed it tightly for me, her bony fingers pressing against my own.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

• acute
• compelling
• critical
• crucial
• demanding
• dire
• immediate
• imperative
• insistent
• serious
• vital