squeeze

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /skwiːz/ See IPA manual

Freq #3978

Meanings

1

verb
To press something firmly, especially from two sides.

She squeezed the lemon to get the juice out.
2

verb
To fit into or through a small or tight space.

We managed to squeeze into the crowded lift.
3

noun
The act of pressing something firmly.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
4

noun
A difficult situation, often caused by a lack of money or space.

Rising prices have put a squeeze on family budgets.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to press something firmly,... compress

2 verb · to fit into or through a... force

3 noun · the act of pressing... squeezing

More condense

Word family

Forms squeezablesqueezedsqueezessqueezing

Derived forms nonsqueezingoversqueezedresqueezescrunchscruzesqueezablesqueeze-boresqueeze-grapesqueezeboxsqueezednesssqueezersqueezingly

Related forms squashsqueegeesquish

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

playful squeeze
a gentle press or clasp intended as friendly fun

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

You can't get blood out of a turnip
Matching variant: You can't squeeze blood from a turnip

Etymology

From earlier squize, squise (whence also dialectal English squizzen and squeege), first attested around 1600, further origin uncertain; probably an alteration of quease (which is attested since 1550), from Middle English queisen (“to squeeze”), from Old English cwȳsan (“to crush, squeeze”), itself also of unknown origin, perhaps imitative (compare Swedish qväsa, kväsa (“to squeeze, bruise, crush; quell”), Dutch kwetsen (“to injure, hurt”), German quetschen (“to squeeze”)). Or, a blend of obsolete squiss (“to squeeze”) (whence also squash and squish) with quease. Compare also French esquicher f…

queisen Middle English cwȳsan Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# squeeze

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /skwiːz/
**Frequency rank:** 3978

## Meanings
1. To press something firmly, especially from two sides.
2. To fit into or through a small or tight space.
3. The act of pressing something firmly.
4. A difficult situation, often caused by a lack of money or space.

## Examples
- She squeezed the lemon to get the juice out.
- We managed to squeeze into the crowded lift.
- He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
- Rising prices have put a squeeze on family budgets.

## Synonyms
- compress
- condense

## Derived Forms
- nonsqueezing
- oversqueezed
- resqueeze
- scrunch
- scruze
- squeezable
- squeeze-bore
- squeeze-grape
- squeezebox
- squeezedness
- squeezer
- squeezingly

## Related Forms
- squash
- squeegee
- squish

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: queisen
- Root: cwȳsan

## Etymology
From earlier squize, squise (whence also dialectal English squizzen and squeege), first attested around 1600, further origin uncertain; probably an alteration of quease (which is attested since 1550), from Middle English queisen (“to squeeze”), from Old English cwȳsan (“to crush, squeeze”), itself also of unknown origin, perhaps imitative (compare Swedish qväsa, kväsa (“to squeeze, bruise, crush; quell”), Dutch kwetsen (“to injure, hurt”), German quetschen (“to squeeze”)). Or, a blend of obsolete squiss (“to squeeze”) (whence also squash and squish) with quease. Compare also French esquicher f…

## AI Etymology
Squeeze is from earlier squize, squise (whence also dialectal English squizzen and squeege), first attested around 1600, further origin uncertain; probably an alteration of quease (which is attested since 1550), from Middle English queisen (“to squeeze”), from Old English cwȳsan (“to crush, squeeze”), itself also of unknown origin, perhaps imitative (compare Swedish qväsa, kväsa (“to squeeze, bruise, crush; quell”), Dutch kwetsen (“to injure, hurt”), German quetschen (“to squeeze”)). Or, a blend of obsolete squiss (“to squeeze”) (whence also squash and squish) with quease.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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