1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

compressing 1 of 2

noun

as in compression

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

compressing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of compress
1
as in condensing
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together a science textbook that compresses a lot of information about human reproduction into a few short chapters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shrinking
to become smaller in size or volume through the drawing together of particles of matter the substance can compress under pressure

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of compressing
Verb
It will be closed by leaders who decide that creating new value beats endlessly compressing old value. — Sumeet Salwan, Forbes.com, 22 Sep. 2026 The result is an entire ocean’s worth of wind and waves all compressing together to get through what is a seriously small bottleneck. — Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026 The forward multiple has stopped compressing as the memory stocks have been considered a cyclical commodity with the demand likely to be satisfied once the initial buildout is complete and then the stock price should rollover. — Todd Gordon, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026 This glacier is thousands of years old, our driver explains, formed from layer after layer of snow compressing into ice. — Uma Raja, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Sep. 2026 Scrape into prepared pan and move around with a fork to fill pan and create some surface texture without compressing mixture. — Rebecca Firkser, Bon Appetit Magazine, 3 Sep. 2026 To gauge correctly, people can place a measuring tape around the abdomen, between the bottom of the ribs and the top of the hip bones, keeping the tape level and snug but not compressing the skin. — Faye Chiu, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for compressing
  1. compression
  2. condensing
  3. shrinking
  4. contracting
  5. squeezing
  6. decreasing
  7. lowering
  8. packing
Noun
  • Further, while about 4,000 workers across Hartford HealthCare’s hospitals, ambulatory locations, and support functions will benefit from this increase, an additional 4,000 will benefit from compression adjustments, the documents show.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The experiments were not designed to demonstrate ignition or fusion gain, but to isolate and test this core compression principle.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of compression
Verb
  • Two-phase systems allow the fluid to boil near hot components before condensing and returning to the bath.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
  • However, even before the cancelation, there was speculation that the LA Jazz Festival was in trouble after organizers quietly started condensing the fest’s events, which was initially supposed to run from August 7 to August 23.
    — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of condensing
Verb
  • But Orange, with its booming home sales and constant new construction, was buffered for years from shrinking student counts felt in other parts of the country.
    — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Fazio’s announcement undermined one more preposterous claim by the shrinking figure that is Diamantis.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrinking
Noun
  • Knife River – The stock rose almost 3% following a Wall Street Journal report that activist investor Starboard Value has acquired a substantial equity interest in the construction materials and contracting services company.
    — Michelle Fox,Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Partly because the contracting system remains dysfunctional, the government has made little visible progress toward repairing the country’s crumbling highways.
    — Will Freeman, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of contracting
Verb
  • Moreover, the short extension of the trade armistice only underscores its fragility; Beijing is still squeezing flows of rare earths to extract concessions from the US and coerce its allies, including Japan.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
  • That high pressure and the burgeoning nor’easter are squeezing the air between them, increasing wind speeds along the East Coast.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of squeezing
Verb
  • The flashing yellow phase at the traffic signal is also meant to help with traffic flow and reduce emissions by decreasing wait times at the light.
    — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In addition, this development shows that behind-the-scenes diplomacy can still be effective, even in an atmosphere of decreasing trust among allies.
    — the Monitor's Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Noun
  • Under questioning, Patel denied that the changes reflected a lowering of employment standards and insisted they were designed to prevent victims who'd been forced to engage in that conduct from being automatically disqualified.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Under questioning, Patel denied that the changes reflected a lowering of employment standards and insisted they were designed to prevent victims who’d been forced to engage in that conduct from being automatically disqualified.
    — Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of lowering
Verb
  • When packing bananas in your bag, make sure they’re cushioned and not packed too tightly to avoid splitting.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Odalys, which is packing maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, is forecast to gradually strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by late Monday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of packing

Browse Nearby Words

compressible
compressing
compression
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Compressing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/compressing. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All