- Pressure is an application of force by pressing, or an urgent demand or force which can cause stress.
An example of pressure is holding a bandage firmly on an open cut.
noun
- a pressing or being pressed; compression; squeezing
- a condition of distress; oppression; affliction
- a sense impression caused by or as by compression of a part of the body
- a compelling influence; constraining force: social pressure
- demands requiring immediate attention; urgency
- atmospheric pressure
- blood pressure
- Obsolete a mark made by pressing; impression
- Physics force per unit of area: abbrev. P
Origin: OFr from Classical Latin pressura, a pressing (LL(Ec), oppression, affliction) from pressus, past participle of premere, to press
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
noun
- a. The act of pressing.b. The condition of being pressed.
- The application of continuous force by one body on another that it is touching; compression.
- Abbr. P Physics Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
- Meteorology Atmospheric pressure.
- A compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will: pressure to conform; peer-group pressure.
- Urgent claim or demand: under the pressure of business; doesn't work well under pressure.
- An oppressive condition of physical, mental, social, or economic distress.
- A physical sensation produced by compression of a part of the body.
- Archaic A mark made by application of force or weight; an impression.
- To force, as by overpowering influence or persuasion.
- To pressurize.
- To pressure-cook.
Origin: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pressūra, from pressus, past participle of premere, to press; see per-4 in Indo-European roots.
pressure - Cultural Definition
The force exerted on a given area. (See atmospheric pressure.)
- The most familiar measure of pressure is psi (pounds per square inch), used to rate pressure in automobile and bicycle tires.
pressure - Medical Definition
noun
- The act of pressing or condition of being pressed.
- A stress or force acting in any direction against resistance.
- Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
pressure - Science Definition
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.
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