Etymology: Middle English presse, from Anglo-French, from presser to press
Date: 13th century
1 a: a crowd or crowded condition :throngb: a thronging or crowding forward or together 2 a: an apparatus or machine by which a substance is cut or shaped, an impression of a body is taken, a material is compressed, pressure is applied to a body, liquid is expressed, or a cutting tool is fed into the work by pressure b: a building containing presses or a business using presses 3:closet, cupboard 4 a: an action of pressing or pushing :pressureb: an aggressive pressuring defense employed in basketball often over the entire court area 5: the properly smoothed and creased condition of a freshly pressed garment <out of press> 6 a:printing pressb: the act or the process of printing c: a printing or publishing establishment 7 a: the gathering and publishing or broadcasting of news :journalismb: newspapers, periodicals, and often radio and television news broadcasting c: news reporters, publishers, and broadcasters d: comment or notice in newspapers and periodicals <is getting a good press> 8: any of various pressure devices (as one for keeping sporting gear from warping when not in use) 9: a lift in weight lifting in which the weight is raised to shoulder height and then smoothly extended overhead without assist from the legs — compare clean and jerk, snatch