PRESS
press, pressure, pressing
(noun) the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; âhe gave the button a pressâ; âhe used pressure to stop the bleedingâ; âat the pressing of a buttonâ
press, military press
(noun) a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead
press, mechanical press
(noun) any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids
press, printing press
(noun) a machine used for printing
press
(noun) clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
wardrobe, closet, press
(noun) a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
press, public press
(noun) the print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines
crush, jam, press
(noun) a dense crowd of people
imperativeness, insistence, insistency, press, pressure
(noun) the state of demanding notice or attention; âthe insistence of their hungerâ; âthe press of business mattersâ
bid, beseech, entreat, adjure, press, conjure
(verb) ask for or request earnestly; âThe prophet bid all people to become good personsâ
urge, urge on, press, exhort
(verb) force or impel in an indicated direction; âI urged him to finish his studiesâ
weightlift, weight-lift, press
(verb) lift weights; âThis guy can press 300 poundsâ
compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract, press
(verb) squeeze or press together; âshe compressed her lipsâ; âthe spasm contracted the muscleâ
press
(verb) place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure; âpressed flowersâ
iron, iron out, press
(verb) press and smooth with a heated iron; âpress your shirtsâ; âshe stood there ironingâ
press
(verb) exert pressure or force to or upon; âHe pressed down on the boardsâ; âpress your thumb on this spotâ
press, push
(verb) make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby; ââNow push hard,â said the doctor to the womanâ
press, press out
(verb) press from a plastic; âpress a recordâ
press
(verb) create by pressing; âPress little holes into the soft clayâ
press
(verb) crowd closely; âThe crowds pressed along the streetâ
weigh, press
(verb) to be oppressive or burdensome; âweigh heavily on the mindâ; âSomething pressed on his mindâ
press
(verb) be urgent; âThis is a pressing problemâ
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
press (countable and uncountable, plural presses)
(countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.
(countable) A printing machine.
Synonym: printing press
(uncountable, collective) The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers).
(countable) A publisher.
(countable, especially in Ireland and Scotland) An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard).
(countable, weightlifting) An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.
(countable, wagering) An additional bet in a golf match that duplicates an existing (usually losing) wager in value, but begins even at the time of the bet.
(countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.
A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
Synonym: press-gang
(obsolete) A crowd.
Synonyms
• (storage space): See closet, cupboard, pantry
Etymology 2
Verb
press (third-person singular simple present presses, present participle pressing, simple past and past participle prest or pressed)
(ambitransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.
(transitive, mechanics, electronics) To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.
Synonyms: strike, hit, depress
(transitive) To compress, squeeze.
Synonyms: thring, thrutch, Thesaurus:compress
(transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.
Synonym: hug
(transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth.
(transitive, sewing) To flatten a selected area of fabric using an iron with an up-and-down, not sliding, motion, so as to avoid disturbing adjacent areas.
(transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction.
Synonyms: thring, thrutch
(transitive, obsolete) To weigh upon, oppress, trouble.
(transitive) To force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly.
Synonym: impel
To try to force (something upon someone).
Synonyms: urge, inculcate
(transitive) To hasten, urge onward.
(transitive) To urge, beseech, entreat.
(transitive) To lay stress upon.
Synonym: emphasize
(ambitransitive) To throng, crowd.
Synonyms: thring, thrutch, Thesaurus:assemble
(transitive, obsolete) To print.
To force into service, particularly into naval service.
Synonym: press-gang
Anagrams
• ERSPs, RESPs, SERPs, Spers
Source: Wiktionary
Press, n. (Zoöl.)
Definition: An East Indian insectivore (Tupaia ferruginea). It is arboreal
in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from
rusty red to maroon and to brownish black.
Press, v. t. Etym: [Corrupt. fr. prest ready money advanced, a loan;
hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering service. See Prest,
n.]
Definition: To force into service, particularly into naval service; to
impress.
To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed. Dryden.
Press, n. Etym: [For prest, confused with press.]
Definition: A commission to force men into public service, particularly
into the navy.
I have misused the king's press. Shak.
Press gang, or Pressgang, a detachment of seamen under the command of
an officer empowered to force men into the naval service. See Impress
gang, under Impress.
– Press money, money paid to a man enlisted into public service.
See Prest money, under Prest, a.
Press, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pressing.] Etym:
[F. presser, fr. L. pressare to press, fr. premere, pressum, to
press. Cf. Print, v.]
1. To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by
pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel
by a gradual and continued exertion; to bear upon; to squeeze; to
compress; as, we press the ground with the feet when we walk; we
press the couch on which we repose; we press substances with the
hands, fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd.
Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together. Luke vi. 38.
2. To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of; to
squeeze out, or express, from something.
From sweet kernels pressed, She tempers dulcet creams. Milton.
And I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I
gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. Gen. xl. 11.
3. To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus, in order
to compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press cotton bales, paper,
etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to press clothes.
4. To embrace closely; to hug.
Leucothoe shook at these alarms, And pressed Palemon closer in her
arms. Pope.
5. To oppress; to bear hard upon.
Press not a falling man too far. Shak.
6. To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or hunger.
7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over;
to constrain; to force; to compel.
Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus
was Christ. Acts xviii. 5.
8. To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or inculcate
with earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as, to press divine
truth on an audience.
He pressed a letter upon me within this hour. Dryden.
Be sure to press upon him every motive. Addison.
9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard; as, to
press a horse in a race.
The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed on, by the
king's commandment. Esther viii. 14.
Note: Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting a slow
or continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a
sudden impulse of force. Pressed brick. See under Brick.
Press, v. i.
1. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with
steady force.
2. To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way with
violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to crowd; to throng; to
encroach.
They pressed upon him for to touch him. Mark iii. 10.
3. To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or
compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the judgment.
Press, n. Etym: [F. presse. See 4th Press.]
1. An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed,
squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is
taken; sometimes, the place or building containing a press or
presses.
Note: Presses are differently constructed for various purposes in the
arts, their specific uses being commonly designated; as, a cotton
press, a wine press, a cider press, a copying press, etc. See Drill
press.
2. Specifically, a printing press.
3. The art or business of printing and publishing; hence, printed
publications, taken collectively, more especially newspapers or the
persons employed in writing for them; as, a free press is a blessing,
a licentious press is a curse.
4. An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a
clothes press. Shak.
5. The act of pressing or thronging forward.
In their throng and press to that last hold. Shak.
6. Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of
engagements.
7. A multitude of individuals crowded together;
They could not come nigh unto him for the press. Mark ii. 4.
Cylinder press, a printing press in which the impression is produced
by a revolving cylinder under which the form passes; also, one in
which the form of type or plates is curved around a cylinder, instead
of resting on a flat bed. Hydrostatic press. See under Hydrostatic.
– Liberty of the press, the free right of publishing books,
pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or censorship,
subject only to punishment for libelous, seditious, or morally
pernicious matters.
– Press bed, a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a press or
closet. Boswell.
– Press of sail, (Naut.), as much sail as the state of the wind
will permit.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition