Compress Meaning
/kəmˈpɹɛs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
verbTo be pressed together or folded by compression into a more economic, easier format.
Sentence Examples
Apply a compress to the affected part every two hours.
A baler is used to compress hay into bales.
CEFR Practice Quiz
You need to ____ the file to reduce its size for email attachment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You can effectively ____ the digital image file to easily save disk space.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English compressen, from Old French compresser, from Late Latin compressare (“to press hard/together”), from Latin compressus, the past participle of comprimō (“to compress”), itself from com- (“together”) + premō (“press”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"events of centuries […] compressed within the compass of a single life"
— 1825 June 17, Daniel Webster, Speech on the laying of the Corner Stone of the Bunker Hill Monument:
"The same strength of expression, though more compressed, runs through his historical harangues."
— 1810, William Melmoth, transl., Letters of Pliny:
"The command-line tool gzip allows you to compress files in a few different ways. First, gzip can compress results from standard input."
— 2015, Vince Buffalo, Bioinformatics Data Skills […] , O'Reilly, →ISBN:
"Diffraction gratings are by far the most common elements used to stretch and compress pulses because of their substantial angular dispersion, […]"
— 2019, B. Webb et al., “Simulation of grating compressor misalignment tolerances and mitigation strategies for chirped-pulse–amplification systems of varying bandwidths and beam sizes”, in Applied Optics, volume 58, number 2, pages 234-243:
"This nymph compreſs'd by him vvho rules the day, / VVhom Delphi and the Delian iſle obey, / Andræmon lov'd; and, bleſs'd in all thoſe charms / That pleas'd a God, ſucceeded to her arms."
— 1717, Alexander Pope, “The Fable of Dryope. From the Ninth Book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.”, in The Works of Mr. Alexander Pope, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintot, […], →OCLC, page 295:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
You need to ____ the file to reduce its size for email attachment.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You can effectively ____ the digital image file to easily save disk space.