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compress definition

com·press (kəm pres′; for n. käm′pres′)

transitive verb

to press together; make more compact by or as by pressure

Etymology: ME compressen < OFr compresser < LL compressare < L compressus, pp. of comprimere, to squeeze < com-, together + premere, to press

noun

  1. a pad of folded cloth, sometimes medicated or moistened, for applying pressure, heat, cold, etc. to some part of the body
  2. ☆ a machine for compressing cotton bales

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

medical compress definition - medical

compress Synonyms

compress

v.

condense, compact, press together, consolidate, concentrate, squeeze, squeeze together, tighten, cramp, contract, crowd, force into a smaller space, constrict, abbreviate, shrivel, make brief, reduce, dehydrate, pack, shorten, shrink, narrow, abridge, restrict in area, make terse, bind tightly, wrap closely, coagulate, abstract, summarize, epitomize, wedge, press, boil down, ram*, stuff*, cram*; see also concentrate 1, decrease 2, press 1, tighten 1.

Antonyms spread*, stretch*, expand. See syn. study at contract.contract.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

compress Usage Examples

Object

  • air: Power was supplied in the form of compressed air using a bicycle pump.

Converse of object

  • apply: Wash the sting area and apply a cold compress.

Adjective modifier

  • cold: Only by having the cold compress of ' magic realist ' applied has he escaped the inferior label.

Adjective complement

  • archive: Compressed archive containing the gcc C compiler, standard C libraries, the emacs editor, info files.

Modifying Another Word

  • laterally: Description Most Ctenopoma are laterally compressed fish with large eyes and big mouths.

Present participle complement

  • accord: This is similar to a sequence of still images compressed according to the JPEG algorithm.
compress usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"compress." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/compress>

APA Style

compress. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/compress

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