Definitions for: Press


[n] the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; "he gave the button a press"; "he used pressure to stop the bleeding"; "at the pressing of a button"
[n] a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead
[n] any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids
[n] a machine used for printing
[n] clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
[n] a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
[n] printed matter in the form of newspapers or magazines
[n] a dense crowd of people
[n] newspaper writers and photographers
[n] the state of urgently demanding notice or attention; "the press of business matters"
[v] lift weights
[v] ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to become good persons"
[v] force or impel in an indicated direction; "I urged him to finish his studies"
[v] exert pressure or force to or upon; "He pressed down on the boards"; "press your thumb on this spot"
[v] make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby; "`Now push hard,' said the doctor to the woman"
[v] press from a plastic, as of records
[v] create by pressing; "Press little holes into the soft clay"
[v] squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the muscle contracted"
[v] place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure; "pressed flowers"
[v] crowd closely; "The crowds pressed along the street"
[v] exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for; "The liberal party pushed for reforms"; "She is crusading for women's rights"; "The Dean is pushing for his favorite candidate"
[v] to be oppressive or burdensome; "weigh heavily on the mind", "Something pressed on his mind"
[v] be urgent; "This is a pressing problem"



Webster (1913) Definition: Press, n. (Zo["o]l.)
An East Indian insectivore (Tupaia ferruginea). It is
arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is
soft, and varies from rusty red to maroon and to brownish
black.


Press, v. t. [Corrupt. fr. prest ready money advanced, a
loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering
service. See Prest, n.]
To force into service, particularly into naval service; to
impress.

To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed. --Dryden.


Press, n. [For prest, confused with press.]
A commission to force men into public service, particularly
into the navy.

I have misused the king's press. --Shak.

Press gang, or Pressgang, a detachment of seamen under
the command of an officer empowered to force men into the
naval service. See Impress gang, under Impress.

Press money, money paid to a man enlisted into public
service. See Prest money, under Prest, a.


Press, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pressed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pressing.] [F. presser, fr. L. pressare to press, fr.
premere, pressum, to press. Cf. Print, v.]
1. To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon
by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to
crowd or compel by a gradual and continued exertion; to
bear upon; to squeeze; to compress; as, we press the
ground with the feet when we walk; we press the couch on
which we repose; we press substances with the hands,
fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd.

Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.
--Luke vi. 38.

2. To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of;
to squeeze out, or express, from something.

From sweet kernels pressed, She tempers dulcet
creams. --Milton.

And I took the grapes, and pressed them into
Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's
hand. --Gen. xl. 11.

3. To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus,
in order to compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press
cotton bales, paper, etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to
press clothes.

4. To embrace closely; to hug.

Leucothoe shook at these alarms, And pressed Palemon
closer in her arms. --Pope.

5. To oppress; to bear hard upon.

Press not a falling man too far. --Shak.

6. To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or
hunger.

7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon
or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.

Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the
Jews that Jesus was Christ. --Acts xviii.
5.

8. To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or
inculcate with earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as,
to press divine truth on an audience.

He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
--Dryden.

Be sure to press upon him every motive. --Addison.

9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard;
as, to press a horse in a race.

The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed
on, by the king's commandment. --Esther viii.
14.

Note: Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting
a slow or continued application of force; whereas drive
and strike denote a sudden impulse of force.

Pressed brick. See under Brick.


Press, v. i.
1. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or
urge with steady force.

2. To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way
with violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to
crowd; to throng; to encroach.

They pressed upon him for to touch him. --Mark iii.
10.

3. To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong
or compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the
judgment.


Press, n. [F. presse. See 4th Press.]
1. An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is
pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an
impression of a body is taken; sometimes, the place or
building containing a press or presses.

Note: Presses are differently constructed for various
purposes in the arts, their specific uses being
commonly designated; as, a cotton press, a wine press,
a cider press, a copying press, etc. See Drill press.

2. Specifically, a printing press.

3. The art or business of printing and publishing; hence,
printed publications, taken collectively, more especially
newspapers or the persons employed in writing for them;
as, a free press is a blessing, a licentious press is a
curse.



4. An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of
articles; as, a clothes press. --Shak.

5. The act of pressing or thronging forward.

In their throng and press to that last hold. --Shak.

6. Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a
press of engagements.

7. A multitude of individuals crowded together; ? crowd of
single things; a throng.

They could not come nigh unto him for the press.
--Mark ii. 4.

Cylinder press, a printing press in which the impression is
produced by a revolving cylinder under which the form
passes; also, one in which the form of type or plates is
curved around a cylinder, instead of resting on a flat
bed.

Hydrostatic press. See under Hydrostatic.

Liberty of the press, the free right of publishing books,
pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or
censorship, subject only to punishment for libelous,
seditious, or morally pernicious matters.

Press bed, a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a
press or closet. --Boswell.

Press of sail, (Naut.), as much sail as the state of the
wind will permit.

Synonyms: adjure, agitate, beseech, bid, campaign, closet, compact, compress, conjure, constrict, contract, crusade, crush, entreat, exhort, fight, fourth estate, imperativeness, insistence, insistency, jam, mechanical press, military press, press out, pressing, pressure, pressure, printing press, public press, push, squeeze, urge, urge on, wardrobe, weigh, weightlift

See Also: advertise, advertize, advise, advocate, armoire, article of furniture, astringe, be, bear down, bear down on, bear on, calender, cast, cheese press, choke, ciderpress, clamp, clothes closet, clothespress, coat closet, compressing, compression, convulse, counsel, count, cranch, craunch, create, crowd, crunch, crush, cylinder press, decompressing, decompression, drag down, estate, estate of the realm, exercise, flatbed press, flatten, flatten out, force, fret, furniture, gag, garlic press, grind, gutter press, hydraulic press, impression, iron, iron out, knuckle, machine, mag, magazine, make, mash, mass, matter, mold, mould, newspaper, overbear, paper, piece of furniture, plead, preach, press corps, press down on, prim, print media, promote, punch press, push, push, push, pushing, rotary press, scrag, snarl-up, squash, squelch, standing press, strangle, strangulate, tighten, touch, traffic jam, urgency, weigh down, weightlifting, winepress, work out

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