Press — Defs

01 n. An East Indian insectivore (Tupaia ferruginea). It is arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from rusty …

1.
An East Indian insectivore (Tupaia ferruginea). It is arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from rusty red to maroon and to brownish black.(Zool.)

02 v. t. To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.

1.
To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.
“To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed.” — Dryden.

03 n. A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.

1.
A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
“I have misused the king's press.” — Shak.

Phrases & compounds

Press gang — a detachment of seamen under the command of an officer empowered to force men into the naval service. See Impress gang, under Impress.

Press money — money paid to a man enlisted into public service. See Prest money, under Prest, a.

04 v. t. To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel by a grad…

imp. & p. p. Pressed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pressing

1.
To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel by a gradual and continued exertion; to bear upon; to squeeze; to compress; as, we press the ground with the feet when we walk; we press the couch on which we repose; we press substances with the hands, fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd.
“Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.” — Luke vi. 38.
2.
To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of; to squeeze out, or express, from something.
“From sweet kernels pressed, She tempers dulcet creams.” — Milton.

“And I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.” — Gen. xl. 11.
3.
To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus, in order to compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press cotton bales, paper, etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to press clothes.
4.
To embrace closely; to hug.
“Leucothoe shook at these alarms, And pressed Palemon closer in her arms.” — Pope.
5.
To oppress; to bear hard upon.
“Press not a falling man too far.” — Shak.
6.
To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or hunger.
7.
To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.
“Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.” — Acts xviii. 5.
8.
To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or inculcate with earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as, to press divine truth on an audience.
“He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.” — Dryden.

“Be sure to press upon him every motive.” — Addison.
9.
To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard; as, to press a horse in a race.
“The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed on, by the king's commandment.” — Esther viii. 14.

Phrases & compounds

Pressed brick — See under Brick.

05 v. i. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with steady force.

1.
To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with steady force.
2.
To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way with violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to crowd; to throng; to encroach.
“They pressed upon him for to touch him.” — Mark iii. 10.
3.
To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the judgment.

06 n. An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is tak…

1.
An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is taken; sometimes, the place or building containing a press or presses.
2.
Specifically, a printing press.
3.
The art or business of printing and publishing; hence, printed publications, taken collectively, more especially newspapers or the persons employed in writing for them; as, a free press is a blessing, a licentious press is a curse.
4.
An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a clothes press.
5.
The act of pressing or thronging forward.
“In their throng and press to that last hold.” — Shak.
6.
Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of engagements.
7.
A multitude of individuals crowded together; � crowd of single things; a throng.
“They could not come nigh unto him for the press.” — Mark ii. 4.

Phrases & compounds

Cylinder press — a printing press in which the impression is produced by a revolving cylinder under which the form passes; also, one in which the form of type or plates is curved around a cylinder, instead of resting on a flat bed.

Hydrostatic press — See under Hydrostatic.

Liberty of the press — the free right of publishing books, pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or censorship, subject only to punishment for libelous, seditious, or morally pernicious matters.

Press bed — a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a press or closet.

Press of sail — as much sail as the state of the wind will permit.