compress

B2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /kəmˈpɹɛs/ UK /ˈkɒmpɹɛs/ See IPA manual

Freq #24100

Meanings

1

verb
to press or squeeze something into a smaller space

The machine compresses the rubbish into small blocks.
2

verb
to make computer data take up less space

You can compress the photos before emailing them.
3

verb
to make something shorter, like a story or a piece of time

The film compresses ten years of history into two hours.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to press or squeeze... compact condense press squeeze squash

2 verb · to make computer data take... zip

3 verb · to make something shorter,... abbreviate abridge condense curtail shorten

More astringecompactifydensitizemash pack scrunchsmush

Opposites

decompactdecompactifydecompress densen expanduncompress

Word family

Forms compressedcompressescompressinguncompressed

Derived forms compressedcompressedlycompressibilitycompressiblecompressinglycompression compressive compressorcompressuredecompressovercompressprecompress

Related forms compression thicken

Etymology

From Middle French compresse, from compresse (“to compress”), from Late Latin compressare (“to press hard/together”), from Latin compressus, the past participle of comprimō (“to compress”), itself from com- (“together”) + premō (“press”).

compresse Middle French compressare la-lat compressus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Technology & Computing

External links

# compress

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /kəmˈpɹɛs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkɒmpɹɛs/
**Frequency rank:** 24100

## Meanings
1. to press or squeeze something into a smaller space
2. to make computer data take up less space
3. to make something shorter, like a story or a piece of time

## Examples
- The machine compresses the rubbish into small blocks.
- You can compress the photos before emailing them.
- The film compresses ten years of history into two hours.

## Synonyms
- astringe
- compact
- compactify
- condense
- densitize
- mash
- pack
- press
- scrunch
- smush
- squash
- squeeze

## Antonyms
- decompact
- decompactify
- decompress
- densen
- expand
- uncompress

## Derived Forms
- compressed
- compressedly
- compressibility
- compressible
- compressingly
- compression
- compressive
- compressor
- compressure
- decompress
- overcompress
- precompress

## Related Forms
- compression
- thicken

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: compresse
- Root: compressare
- Root: compressus
- Affix: com- - with

## Etymology
From Middle French compresse, from compresse (“to compress”), from Late Latin compressare (“to press hard/together”), from Latin compressus, the past participle of comprimō (“to compress”), itself from com- (“together”) + premō (“press”).

## AI Etymology
compress is a verb. It is from Middle French compresse, from compresse (“to compress”), from Late Latin compressare (“to press hard/together”), from Latin compressus, the past participle of comprimō (“to compress”), itself from com- (“together”) + premō (“press”). Historical forms in the chain include compresse (Middle French), compressare (Late Latin), and compressus (Latin). Current senses include to press or squeeze something into a smaller space, to make computer data take up less space, and to make something shorter, like a story or a piece of time. Derived forms include compressed, compressedly, compressibility, compressible, and compressingly. Related words include compression and thicken.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Technology & Computing

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compress

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