Definition of compression
1a : the act, process, or result of compressingb : the state of being compressed
2 : the process of compressing the fuel mixture in a cylinder of an internal combustion engine (as in an automobile)
3 : the compressed remains of a fossil plant
4 : conversion (as of data, a data file, or a communications signal) in order to reduce the space occupied or bandwidth required
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Examples of compression in a Sentence
the compression of a long, complicated story into a two-hour movie is never easy
Recent Examples of compression from the Web
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Wilhite found a way to do so using a compression algorithm (more on this soon) combined with image parameters like the number of available colors (256).
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The company also sells Knox mugs, hats and compression socks.
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The song has more than 100 beats per minute, which is the rate at which chest compressions should be delivered, Cortes DeVito said.
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Like many other companies, Nike sells a variety of compression tights.
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Waddell bought the fish in Nashville and got it into PPG Paints Arena by squashing it and then hiding it beneath a pair of compression shorts.
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Margaret Dear Frustrated: My current favorite is a brand called Thirty48 (www.thirty48.com), a company aimed at the athletic market with running, hiking, cycling and compression products.
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Eureka stories are a compression of decades and decades of work into one inspirational moment.
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Several asthmatic, high-compression turns of the crank later, the engine lit, its brattiness unabashed.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'compression'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
15th Century
First Known Use of compression
15th century
COMPRESSION Defined for Kids
compression
playDefinition of compression for Students
: the act, process, or result of pressing something together
Medical Dictionary
compression
playMedical Definition of compression
: the act, process, or result of compressing especially when involving a compressing force on a bodily part compression of an artery by forceps compression of the brain by the bones of a depressed fracture
Learn More about compression
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See words that rhyme with compression Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for compression Spanish Central: Translation of compression Nglish: Translation of compression for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of compression for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about compression
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