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pressure

[ presh-er ]
/ ˈprɛʃ ər /
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See synonyms for: pressure / pressured / pressures / pressuring on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object), pres·sured, pres·sur·ing.
to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence: They pressured him into accepting the contract.
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Origin of pressure

1350–1400; Middle English (noun) <Latin pressūra.See press1, -ure

OTHER WORDS FROM pressure

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pressure in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pressure

pressure
/ (ˈprɛʃə) /

noun
verb
(tr) to constrain or compel, as by the application of moral force
another word for pressurize

Derived forms of pressure

pressureless, adjective

Word Origin for pressure

C14: from Late Latin pressūra a pressing, from Latin 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

Scientific definitions for pressure

pressure
[ prĕshər ]

The force per unit area that one region of a gas, liquid, or solid exerts on another. Pressure is usually measured in Pascal units, atmospheres, or pounds per square inch.♦ A substance is said to have negative pressure if some other substance exerts more force per unit area on it than vice versa. Its value is simply the negative of the pressure exerted by the other substance.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for pressure

pressure

The force exerted on a given area. (See atmospheric pressure.)

notes for pressure

The most familiar measure of pressure is psi (pounds per square inch), used to rate pressure in automobile and bicycle tires.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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