Pressure Meaning
/ˈpɹɛʃə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA pressing; a force applied to a surface.
nounThe amount of force that is applied over a given area divided by the size of this area; force per unit area.
Sentence Examples
The bridge crashed under the pressure.
External pressure grows ever more intense.
The pressure for change continued to mount.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ inside the balloon caused it to expand as it filled with air.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager was under enormous ____ to deliver results before the end of the financial quarter.
Word Origin & History
From Latin pressūra.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"When the pressure of danger was not felt."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XVI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
"Hostile forces are putting pressure on our people. Take out their supply line to give our troops room to breathe."
— 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Disrupt Enemy Supplies:
"My people's pressures are grievous."
— 1649, Eikon Basilike:
"Thirty-five years ago, many journeys around London meant having to pass through the centre of the capital. That's no longer the case, which takes real pressure off the city's termini as well as underground routes such as the Circle Line."
— 2020 May 20, Paul Bigland, “East London Line's renaissance”, in Rail, page 49:
"All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past."
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ inside the balloon caused it to expand as it filled with air.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The manager was under enormous ____ to deliver results before the end of the financial quarter.