as in relaxation
freedom from activity or labor
the waitstaff gets a welcome period of decompression between the lunch and dinner rushes
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Recent Examples of decompression
Was the decompression time after work different for this type of project?
—
Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
But the prospect of going without a staple of his decompression routine was a step too far.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 11 Feb. 2026
One area of uncertainty is how much hydrogen in the iron samples escaped during decompression; this loss has been documented in other studies but was not included in the new calculations.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Depress the decompression valve (if your model has one).
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The first uses extrusion, in which the biomass is heated and pressurized before undergoing rapid decompression.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025
After any transitional moment in life, a decompression period of about 90 to 180 days can be essential.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Having decompression hobbies has been really good for me as well.
—Glamour, 9 Dec. 2025
Found in translation In a way, human language acts as a compression and decompression scheme—the listener must decompress the meaning of words in the same way the speaker intended when encoding the message for them to be properly understood.
—ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 24 Feb. 2026
But the prospect of going without a staple of his decompression routine was a step too far.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 11 Feb. 2026
One area of uncertainty is how much hydrogen in the iron samples escaped during decompression; this loss has been documented in other studies but was not included in the new calculations.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 10 Feb. 2026
Depress the decompression valve (if your model has one).
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The first uses extrusion, in which the biomass is heated and pressurized before undergoing rapid decompression.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025
After any transitional moment in life, a decompression period of about 90 to 180 days can be essential.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Having decompression hobbies has been really good for me as well.
—Glamour, 9 Dec. 2025
Found in translation In a way, human language acts as a compression and decompression scheme—the listener must decompress the meaning of words in the same way the speaker intended when encoding the message for them to be properly understood.
—ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decompression
Noun
-
There’s a game room with a wet bar, a pool for relaxation and a two-bedroom guest house for multigenerational living.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
The key to achieving hotel-level relaxation is wearing unrestrictive sleepwear—which the LyreBird Silky Oversized Pajama Shirt delivers effortlessly.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
However, there are no center cupholders, fold down arm rests, air vents, or USB ports in the rear seats, meaning passengers will need to rely on the driver or front seat passenger for assistance with air and charging.—
Scotty Reiss,
Parents,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Your doctor can pinpoint the issue and then guide you toward treatment for better rest.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decompression.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decompression. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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