as in squeeze
the act or process of reducing the size or volume of something by or as if by pressing
the tight squeezing of his hands on hers made her face turn red
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in crushing
to apply external pressure on so as to force out the juice or contents of
kept squeezing the bottle until the ketchup squirted all over the table
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in cramming
to fit (people or things) into a tight space
I think we can squeeze a bit more into the washing machine
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in earning
to get with great difficulty
managed to squeeze a living by cleaning houses
Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in compressing
to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together
squeezed the blanket until it fit into the box
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in plucking
to rob by the use of trickery or threats
the mob squeezes all the local merchants by threatening violence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 squeezing
Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2026
Maenpaa added that the physical act of squeezing creates a sensory anchor.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2026
Concacaf is not the only confederation squeezing games into FIFA windows around the club calendar.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
After a week of squeezing through the dangerous, mazelike cave network, divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased Palasing emerged from its muddy waters Wednesday to find a cause for hope.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 27 May 2026
But higher oil prices have pushed up gasoline and other energy costs, driving inflation to its highest level in almost three years and squeezing household budgets.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 May 2026
Energy, Utilities and Communications is important in addressing cost-of-living issues, since high utility costs are squeezing many of our residents.
—Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
When Lee shimmies through the crowd, squeezing through supporters, fans are also unfazed by the fan group regular.
—Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Nurses work furiously, hand-squeezing resuscitator bags to help their patients breathe.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
While progressive Democrats are pushing to tax billionaires and close corporate loopholes, Republicans are warning that squeezing job creators will severely damage Illinois’ economy.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
At some point, the NFL will have to decide whether squeezing every possible dollar out of media rights is worth diminishing the on-field product.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026
Noun
So scientists use frequency-dependent squeezing to reduce quantum noise.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 22 May 2026
Maenpaa added that the physical act of squeezing creates a sensory anchor.
—Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 7 May 2026
Concacaf is not the only confederation squeezing games into FIFA windows around the club calendar.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
After squeezing the game’s final out, first baseman Leyton MacPherson casually flipped the ball in the air, joined her teammate in a sprint toward Spangler, and gloves began flying.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026
After a week of squeezing through the dangerous, mazelike cave network, divers Mikko Paasi and Norrased Palasing emerged from its muddy waters Wednesday to find a cause for hope.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 27 May 2026
But higher oil prices have pushed up gasoline and other energy costs, driving inflation to its highest level in almost three years and squeezing household budgets.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 26 May 2026
Energy, Utilities and Communications is important in addressing cost-of-living issues, since high utility costs are squeezing many of our residents.
—Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
When Lee shimmies through the crowd, squeezing through supporters, fans are also unfazed by the fan group regular.
—Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Nurses work furiously, hand-squeezing resuscitator bags to help their patients breathe.
—Kansas City Star, 22 May 2026
While progressive Democrats are pushing to tax billionaires and close corporate loopholes, Republicans are warning that squeezing job creators will severely damage Illinois’ economy.
—Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026
At some point, the NFL will have to decide whether squeezing every possible dollar out of media rights is worth diminishing the on-field product.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for squeezing
Noun
-
Hand-squeeze one ounce of lime juice into the glass and top with a Ranch Water All Día.—
Claudia Alarcón,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
European carriers face a squeeze for similar reasons.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Chasing Hokies reliever Madden Clement with no outs in the ninth, Mulivai Levu began the three-run rally at Jackie Robinson Stadium by crushing his 18th homer of the season to right.—
Josh Gross,
Daily News,
31 May 2026
-
India’s capitalist economy is booming, and the ruling Hindu-nationalist government is crushing its above-ground leftist opponents at the ballot box.—
Dhruv Tikekar,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
That’s cramming too many homes on limited acreage, especially in an area where traffic is already dangerous because of so many new developments, two neighbors told the board to applause from the Town Hall audience.—
Joe Marusak
May 27,
Charlotte Observer,
27 May 2026
-
Clark agreed with Reinhart’s observations, but warned that the four-day workweek wasn’t so much as cramming a 40-hour week into four days as a genuine reduction to 32 hours, one that respected an employee’s life outside of work.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
In 2022, drivers for food delivery platforms Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, and Relay were revealed by New York’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to be earning half their income in pay, and half in tips.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 May 2026
-
Compared to Florida’s other high-earning workers, Rodrigues and Kamoutsas also make the most relative to the median pay of their departmental colleagues.—
Shirsho Dasgupta
May 28,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
CrowdStrike's 2025 Global Threat Report documented adversary breakout times falling to under 30 minutes, meaning the window between initial access and lateral movement inside a network keeps compressing.—
Michael George,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Users can upload large video projects, raw photo libraries, design assets, or full client deliverables without splitting files or compressing them first.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
The only thing that prevented a shutout was Ross Colton plucking in a rebound off Brent Burns’ sniper off Hart’s chest.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
-
The Lightning historically have done a tremendous job plucking NHL talent from the middle rounds of the draft.—
Eduardo Encina,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Though putting olive oil in coffee isn’t technically a traditional Italian custom, Starbucks has a history of pushing limits to discover new, unexpected ways to innovate around coffee.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 May 2026
-
The United States has also been pushing for Iran to end uranium enrichment, which the regime in Tehran has rejected.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
25 May 2026
Noun
-
Frank Lloyd Wright called this compression and release.—
Sean Timberlake,
Sacbee.com,
29 May 2026
-
The 5x telephoto gives you a very pleasing compression and doubles as a macro shooter (right image in the above collage).—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Squeezing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/squeezing. Accessed 2 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
