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Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of compress in English

compress
verb [ T ]
us
/kəmˈpres/ uk
/kəmˈpres/
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to press something into a smaller space:
Firmly compress the soil in the pot so that the plant is secure.
compressed air
to make information, a piece of writing, etc. shorter:
compress something into something The course compresses two years' training into six intensive months.
I managed to compress ten pages of notes into four paragraphs.
to make a computer file use less space when it is stored in the memory of a computer or on a disk, by using a special program:
compress data Engineers have compressed data so much that a single copper wire can carry TV, phone calls, and the internet at the same time.
compress a file I've compressed the files to make them easier to download.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Squeezing and grinding
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Related words

compressed
compressible
compression
compressive
compressor
compress
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈkɑːm.pres/ uk
/ˈkɒm.pres/
a thick, soft piece of cloth that is pressed to a part of a person's body to stop bleeding or to reduce pain or swelling:
a cold/hot compress
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Medical dressings, supports & devices
See more results »
(Definition of compress from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

compress | Intermediate English

compress
verb [ T ]
us
/kəmˈpres/

compress verb [T] (PRESS)

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to press something into a smaller space:
Snow in the crater compresses into a fastest-growing glacier.
Firmly compress the dirt in the pot to hold the plant upright.
To compress also means to shorten something so that it takes less time:
Four years of normal mortgage business is being compressed into two months.

compression

noun [ U ] us
/kəmˈpreʃ·ən/
data compression
compress
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈkɑm·pres/

compress noun [C] (CLOTH)

a thick, soft piece of cloth that is pressed to a part of a person’s body esp. to help a healing process:
Apply warm compresses to the infected area.
(Definition of compress from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

compress | Business English

compress
verb [ T ]
uk
/kəmˈpres/ us
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IT
to make computer information take up less space in memory or on a disk, by using a special program:
Mega sites such as YouTube compress data to accommodate huge numbers of videos.
Compare
decompress
See also
zip

compression

noun [ U ] /kəmˈpreʃən/
Video formats like VCD and DVD both use MPEG data compression to store the picture and sound information.
(Definition of compress from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of compress

compress
A cool compress can help these symptoms as well.
From Huffington Post
This means that the sending device must (re) compress the audio before it's sent to the headset.
From Ars Technica
It could hold a gasoline, compressed natural gas or electric engine, depending on which technology is the greenest at any time.
From CNN
White exhaust rises from a building where engines compress the gas for a pipeline.
From NPR
So when you hit the spring, the glass compresses and creates waves.
From NPR
It doesn't force you to compress your images, and it has neat things like crop, resize, rotate, and compression from 10-100.
From The Atlantic
Not to mention that pretentious word: "discourse," which with an increase in the volume of communications, and communicants, must be compressed, reduced, for practicality's sake.
From The Atlantic
The first thing you should do is get an app that not only tracks your usage, but also compresses data downloads.
From CNET
As it slammed through the atmosphere at several thousand kilometers per hour it compressed the air in front of it, heating it up.
From Slate Magazine
In recent tests, researchers have found that the tail of the underwater equine can be compressed to about half its size.
From Gizmodo
Cramped toe spaces in tight-fitting sneakers and high heels compress your toes together in an unnatural form.
From Huffington Post
The technique was similar to compressing a digital file, which reduces its size without sacrificing useful information.
From Huffington Post
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
What is the pronunciation of compress?
 

Translations of compress

in Chinese (Traditional)
壓縮, 壓緊, 壓縮（文字）…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
压缩, 压紧, 压缩（文字）…
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in Spanish
comprimir, compresa, reducir…
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in Portuguese
comprimir, condensar, compressa…
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in more languages
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Czech
in Danish
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Korean
in Ukrainian
in Italian
～を圧縮する, 詰（つ）め込（こ）む, 短縮（たんしゅく）する…
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sıkıştırmak, sıkmak, basmak…
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compresser, comprimer, condenser…
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comprimir…
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samenpersen…
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stěsnat…
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komprimere, sammenpresse…
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memadatkan…
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บีบอัด…
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ép, nén…
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ściskać, sprężać, kondensować…
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pressa ihop, komprimera…
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memampatkan…
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zusammenpressen…
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komprimere, presse sammen…
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압축하다…
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стискувати…
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comprimere…
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