squeeze Hear it!

squeeze Definition

squeeze (skwēz)

transitive verb squeezed, squeez′·ing

  1. to press hard or closely; exert pressure on, esp. from two or more sides; compress
    1. to press in order to extract liquid, juice, etc. to squeeze oranges
    2. to get, bring forth, or extract by pressure to squeeze water from a sponge
  3. to force (into, out, through, etc.) by or as by pressing
  4. to get, extract, or extort by force or unfair means
  5. to oppress with exactions, burdensome taxes, etc.
  6. to put pressure or bring influence to bear upon (someone) to do a certain thing, as to pay money, etc.
  7. to embrace closely; hug
  8. ☆ Baseball to score (a run) or cause (a runner) to score by a squeeze play
  9. ☆ Bridge to force (an opponent) to discard a potentially winning card

Etymology: intens. of ME queisen < OE cwysan, to squeeze, dash against, bruise, akin to Goth quistjan, to destroy < IE base *gweye-, to overpower > Sans jināti, (he) conquers

intransitive verb

  1. to yield or give way to pressure a wet sponge squeezes easily
  2. to exert pressure
  3. to force one's way by pushing or pressing (in, out, through, etc.)

noun

  1. a squeezing or being squeezed; hard or close pressure
    1. a close embrace; hug
    2. a firm pressing or grasping of another's hand in one's own
  3. the state of being closely pressed or packed; crush
  4. a period or situation marked by scarcity, hardship, insecurity, etc.
  5. a facsimile impression made by pressing a soft substance onto something, as a coin or inscription
  6. a quantity of something extracted by squeezing
  7. Informal pressure or influence brought to bear, as in extortion
  8. ☆ squeeze play
  9. Slang a sweetheart or lover: used esp. in the expression main squeeze

squeeze Related Forms

squeez′·able adjective squeez′er noun

squeeze Idioms

squeeze through

or squeeze by

Informal to succeed, survive, get through, etc. by a narrow margin or with difficulty

squeeze Synonyms

squeeze

n.

  1. Pressure

    influence, restraint, force; see pressure 1, 2.

  2. An embrace

    hug, clasp, handshake; see hug.

put the squeeze on*

compel, urge, extort, use force with, use pressure with, use compulsion with; see also force 1, influence.

squeeze Synonyms

squeeze

v.

  1. To exert pressure

    clasp, pinch, clutch, compress; see hug, press 1.

  2. To extract with pressure

    juice, milk, press; see remove 1.

squeeze Usage Examples

Object

  • juice: Slice bananas and squeeze lemon juice over them, toss to ensure they are coated.
  • ounce: Tho I'd hardly call the work being done to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of the mice trivial.
  • lemon: Fluids to support the liver Lemon water add a freshly squeezed lemon to a glass of hot water.
  • trigger: The " jaws " of the clamp meter are opened by squeezing the trigger on the left-hand side.
  • penny: It is an orphan specification, the prime justification is squeezing the last penny out of the cost of modem hardware.
  • quart: In effect we tried to squeeze a quart out of a pint pot.

Preposition: on

margin: With similar price declines expected, the squeeze on profit margins looks set to continue.

Preposition: through

boulder: At the bottom a squeeze through a boulder choke drops you at the top of a 70 feet high passage.

Preposition: over

juice: Place in a bowl and sprinkle on the sugar, squeeze over the lemon juice of half a lemon and set aside.

Adjective modifier

  • tight: Between Worlds Passage continues for 10m to a large step over or tight squeeze around a hole in the floor.
  • awkward: To be perfectly honest, I didn't actually think we would get beyond the awkward calcite squeeze near the entrance.
  • coastal: Coastal squeeze occurs where fixed sea defenses prevent the natural migration of saltmarsh inland as estuaries become subject to sea level rise.
  • gentle: Some deafblind people may need a stronger indication, perhaps a gentle squeeze of the wrist, but check with them.

Modifies a noun

stile: Follow the road round past a pond, then turn left through a parallel bar squeeze stile onto a woodland path.

Modifying Another Word

freshly: Fluids to support the liver Lemon water add a freshly squeezed lemon to a glass of hot water.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • through: However, when Pete squeezed through to the last safe haven before the choke, we heard laughter peel out.
  • out: Any reaction has to be squeezed out of them.

Preposition: of

  • lemon: Jane Grigson recommends adding chopped salad onion and a squeeze of lemon plus some more chopped herbs.
  • juice: She suggests a better option may be a large glass of iced water with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Noun used with modifier

margin: On the key issue of the alleged margin squeeze against rivals we found BSkyB to be around the borderline of anti-competitive behavior.