Main Entry:

¹com·press

Pronunciation:

\kəm-ˈpres\

Function:

verb

Etymology:

Middle English, from Late Latin compressare to press hard, frequentative of Latin comprimere to compress, from com- + premere to press — more at press

Date:

14th century

transitive verb 1 : to press or squeeze together 2 : to reduce in size, quantity, or volume as if by squeezing <compress a computer file> intransitive verb : to undergo compression

synonyms see contract