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Short "hint"

To press something or make it smaller so that it takes up less space, or to become smaller.

Watch out! You may see this word with another pronunciation and its meaning is then different.
Used as a verb, listen here, it means: To press something or make it smaller so that it takes up less space, or to become smaller. Used as a noun, listen here, it means: A cloth pad or bandage (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever).

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Usage examples (37)
  • compress your clothes so that it will fit in your luggage.
  • compress the data
  • Instead, soak a compress in vinegar and press (don't rub) it against the sting.
  • But it's really -- it takes a while to sit there and just kind of compress the air.
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Tutoring comment
  • ''compress" is a heteronym, which means you may find it with different pronunciations and different meanings.
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We give special thanks to our LearnThat volunteers, as well as Princeton University and Wiktionary for their Open Source word data. We're also grateful for the support given by Google, Wordnik.com, Dictionary.com, Stands4.com and YouTube, OEDILF.com, Kylescholz.com, Best-Practice.com, Forvo.com, as well as the generous Creative Commons community.