Library / English Dictionary

COMPRESS

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("compress" is a kind of...):

dressing; medical dressing (a cloth covering for a wound or sore)

Meronyms (substance of "compress"):

fomentation (a substance used as a warm moist medicinal compress or poultice)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Squeeze or press together

Example:

the spasm contracted the muscle

Synonyms:

compact; compress; constrict; contract; press; squeeze

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compress" is one way to...):

tighten (become tight or tighter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "compress"):

choke; strangle (constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing)

prim (contract one's lips)

astringe (constrict or bind or draw together)

strangulate (constrict a hollow organ or vessel so as to stop the flow of blood or air)

convulse (contract involuntarily, as in a spasm)

convulse (cause to contract)

bear down; overbear (contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery)

choke; fret; gag (be too tight; rub or press)

choke; scrag (wring the neck of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

compressible (capable of being compressed or made more compact)

compressible (capable of being easily compressed)

compressing; compression (applying pressure)

compression (the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together)

compressor (a mechanical device that compresses gasses)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more compact by or as if by pressing

Example:

compress the data

Synonyms:

compact; compress; pack together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compress" is one way to...):

force; squeeze; wedge (squeeze like a wedge into a tight space)

"Compress" entails doing...:

press (exert pressure or force to or upon)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "compress"):

pack; tamp; tamp down (press down tightly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Antonym:

decompress (restore to its uncompressed form)

Derivation:

compressing (applying pressure)

compression (encoding information while reducing the bandwidth or bits required)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Treatment depends on the cause of the infection and may include compresses, eye drops, creams, or antibiotics.

(Eye Infections, NIH)

A solid composed of a small granular or compressed mass that contains highly purified active and/or inert ingredient(s).

(Pellet Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

The geometry of an object that is shaped like a spheroid compressed at the poles.

(Oblate, NCI Thesaurus)

Single ladies must live, and their passbooks are compressed diaries.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Their heads were thrown back, their lips compressed, their blood-stained swords poised over their right shoulders, and their left feet thrown out.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neurofibromas can become quite large, causing a major disfigurement, eroding bone, and compressing various peripheral nerve structures.

(Neurofibromatosis type 1, NCI Thesaurus)

A solid dosage form containing medicinal substances that have been compressed to form a multiple-layered tablet or a tablet-within-a-tablet, the inner tablet being the core and the outer portion being the shell.

(Multilayered Tablet Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

Giant aneurysms (>2.5 cm in diameter) may compress adjacent structures, including the OCULOMOTOR NERVE (see also OCULOMOTOR NERVE DISEASES).

(Intracranial Aneurysm, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

To soothe itchy skin, you can try cold compresses, lotions and lukewarm baths.

(Itching, NIH)

An endodontic filling technique which compresses the filling material, gutta percha, parallel to the long tooth axis in the root canal.

(Lateral Condensation, NCI Thesaurus)