D defs.my
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Entry 4 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Compress

/kəmprĕs'/ · Com·press · IPA /kəmˈpɹɛs/
01 v. t. To press or squeeze together; to force into a narrower compass; to reduce the volume of by pressure; to compact; to condense; as, to compre…
imp. & p. p. Compressed; p. pr & vb. n. Compressing
  1. 1.
    To press or squeeze together; to force into a narrower compass; to reduce the volume of by pressure; to compact; to condense; as, to compress air or water.
    “Events of centuries . . . compressed within the compass of a single life.” — D. Webster.
    “The same strength of expression, though more compressed, runs through his historical harangues.” — Melmoth.
  2. 2.
    To embrace sexually.[Obs.]
  3. 3.
    to reduce the space required for storage (of binary data) by an algorithm which converts the data to a smaller number of bits while preserving the information content. The compressed data is usually decompressed to recover the initial data format before subsequent use.(Computers)
Syn. To crowd; squeeze; condense; reduce; abridge.
02 n. A folded piece of cloth, pledget of lint, etc., used to cover the dressing of wounds, and so placed as, by the aid of a bandage, to make du…
  1. 1.
    A folded piece of cloth, pledget of lint, etc., used to cover the dressing of wounds, and so placed as, by the aid of a bandage, to make due pressure on any part.(Surg.)