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Definition of press - 9 dictionary results
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press

1  [pres]
Use press in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to act upon with steadily applied weight or force.
2. to move by weight or force in a certain direction or into a certain position: The crowd pressed him into a corner.
3. to compress or squeeze, as to alter in shape or size: He pressed the clay into a ball.
4. to weigh heavily upon; subject to pressure.
5. to hold closely, as in an embrace; clasp: He pressed her in his arms.
6. to flatten or make smooth, esp. by ironing: to press clothes; to press flowers in the leaves of a book.
7. to extract juice, sugar, etc., from by pressure: to press grapes.
8. to squeeze out or express, as juice: to press the juice from grapes.
9. to beset or harass; afflict: He was pressed by problems on all sides.
10. to trouble or oppress; put into a difficult position, as by depriving: Poverty pressed them hard.
11. to urge or entreat strongly or insistently: to press for payment of a debt; to press for an answer.
12. to emphasize or propound forcefully; insist upon: He pressed his own ideas on us.
13. to plead with insistence: to press a claim.
14. to urge onward; hasten: He pressed his horse to go faster.
15. to push forward.
–verb (used without object)
16. to manufacture (phonograph records, videodiscs, or the like), esp. by stamping from a mold or matrix.
17. to exert weight, force, or pressure.
18. Weightlifting. to raise or lift, esp. a specified amount of weight, in a press.
19. to iron clothing, curtains, etc.
20. to bear heavily, as upon the mind.
21. (of athletes and competitors) to perform tensely or overanxiously, as when one feels pressured or is determined to break out of a slump; strain because of frustration: For days he hasn't seemed able to buy a hit, and he's been pressing.
22. to compel haste: Time presses.
23. to demand immediate attention.
24. to use urgent entreaty: to press for an answer.
25. to push forward or advance with force, eagerness, or haste: The army pressed to reach the river by dawn.
26. to crowd or throng.
27. Basketball. to employ a press.
–noun
28. an act of pressing; pressure.
29. the state of being pressed.
30. printed publications collectively, esp. newspapers and periodicals.
31. all the media and agencies that print, broadcast, or gather and transmit news, including newspapers, newsmagazines, radio and television news bureaus, and wire services.
32. the editorial employees, taken collectively, of these media and agencies.
33. (often used with a plural verb) a group of news reporters, or of news reporters and news photographers: The press are in the outer office, waiting for a statement.
34. the consensus of the general critical commentary or the amount of coverage accorded a person, thing, or event, esp. in newspapers and periodicals (often prec. by good or bad): The play received a good press. The minister's visit got a bad press.
35. printing press.
36. an establishment for printing books, magazines, etc.
37. the process or art of printing.
38. any of various devices or machines for exerting pressure, stamping, or crushing.
39. a wooden or metal viselike device for preventing a tennis or other racket from warping when not in use.
40. a pressing or pushing forward.
41. a crowding, thronging, or pressing together; collective force: The press of the crowd drove them on.
42. a crowd, throng, or multitude.
43. the desired smooth or creased effect caused by ironing or pressing: His suit was out of press.
44. pressure or urgency, as of affairs or business.
45. an upright case or other piece of furniture for holding clothes, books, pamphlets, etc.
46. Basketball. an aggressive form of defense in which players guard opponents very closely.
47. Weightlifting. a lift in which the barbell, after having been lifted from the ground up to chest level, is pushed to a position overhead with the arms extended straight up, without moving the legs or feet.
—Idioms
48. go to press, to begin being printed: The last edition has gone to press.
49. press the flesh, Informal. flesh (def. 23).
Origin:
1175–1225; (n.) ME press(e) throng, company, trouble, machine for pressing, clothespress < OF, deriv. of presser to press < L pressāre, freq. of premere (ptp. pressus) to press (cf. rare OE press clothespress < ML pressa, n. use of fem. of pressus); (v.) ME pressen (< OF presser) < L pressāre, as above

Related forms:
press⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
9. annoy, worry, torment, assail, besiege. 11. induce, persuade, beg, implore.
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press

2  [pres]
–verb (used with object)
1. to force into service, esp. naval or military service; impress.
2. to make use of in a manner different from that intended or desired: French taxis were pressed into service as troop transports.
–noun
3. impressment into service, esp. naval or military service.
Origin:
1535–45; back formation from prest, ptp. of obs. prest to take (men) for military service, v. use of prest 2 in sense “enlistment money”

Press

  [pres]
–noun
a male given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To press
press 1   (prěs)   
v.   pressed, press·ing, press·es

v.   tr.

  1. To exert steady weight or force against; bear down on.

    1. To squeeze the juice or other contents from.

    2. To extract (juice, for example) by squeezing or compressing.

    3. To reshape or make compact by applying steady force; compress.

    4. To iron (clothing, for example).

    1. To reshape or make compact by applying steady force; compress.

    2. To iron (clothing, for example).

  4. To clasp in fondness or politeness.

  5. To try to influence, as by insistent arguments; importune or entreat: He pressed her for a reply.

  6. To urge or force to action; impel.

  7. To place in trying or distressing circumstances; harass or oppress.

  8. To move (keys on a computer keyboard, for example) by applying pressure.

  9. To lay stress on; emphasize.

  10. To advance or carry on vigorously: "Far from backing down, he pressed the attack" (Justin Kaplan).

  11. To put forward importunately or insistently: press an argument.

  12. To make (a phonograph record or videodisc) from a mold or matrix.

  13. Sports To lift (a weight) to a position above the head without moving the legs.

v.   intr.

  1. To exert force or pressure.

  2. To weigh heavily, as on the mind.

  3. To advance eagerly; push forward.

  4. To require haste; be urgent.

  5. To iron clothes or other material.

  6. To assemble closely and in large numbers; crowd.

  7. To employ urgent persuasion or entreaty.

  8. Sports To raise or lift a weight in a press.

  9. Basketball To employ a press.

n.  

  1. Any of various machines or devices that apply pressure.

  2. Any of various machines used for printing; a printing press.

  3. A place or establishment where matter is printed.

  4. The art, method, or business of printing.

    1. The collecting and publishing or broadcasting of news; journalism in general.

    2. The entirety of media and agencies that collect, publish, transmit, or broadcast the news.

    3. The people involved in the media, as news reporters, photographers, publishers, and broadcasters.

    4. Commentary or coverage especially in print media: "Like the pool hall and the tattoo parlor, the motorcycle usually gets a bad press" (R.Z. Sheppard).

    5. The act of applying pressure.

    6. The state of being pressed.

  6. The act of gathering in large numbers or of pushing forward.

  7. A large gathering; a throng. See Synonyms at crowd1.

    1. The act of applying pressure.

    2. The state of being pressed.

  9. The haste or urgency of business or matters.

  10. The set of proper creases in a garment or fabric, formed by ironing.

  11. Chiefly Northeastern U.S. An upright closet or case used for storing clothing, books, or other articles.

  12. A viselike device for keeping a racket from warping.

  13. Sports A lift in weightlifting in which the weight is raised to shoulder level and then steadily pushed straight overhead without movement of the legs.

  14. Basketball An aggressive defense tactic in which players guard opponents closely, often over the entire court.


[Middle English pressen, from Old French presser, from Latin pressāre, frequentative of premere, to press; see per-4 in Indo-European roots.]
press 2   (prěs)   
tr.v.   pressed, press·ing, press·es

  1. To force into service in the army or navy; impress.

    1. To take arbitrarily or by force, especially for public use.

    2. To use in a manner different from the usual or intended, especially in an emergency.

n.  

  1. Conscription or impressment into service, especially into the army or navy.

  2. Obsolete An official warrant for impressing men into military service.


[Alteration of obsolete prest, to hire for military service by advance payment, from Middle English, enlistment money, loan, from Old French, from prester, to lend, from Medieval Latin praestāre, from Latin, to furnish, from praestō, present, at hand; see ghes- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

press  (n.)
"crowd, multitude," c.1225, from O.Fr. presse (11c.), from L. pressare (see press (v.1)). Sense of "to urge, compel, force" (now mostly in adj. pressing, 1705) is recorded from 1390. Basketball defense so called from 1961. Meaning "machine for squeezing" (e.g. winepress) is recorded from 1362, from M.Fr. presse. Specific sense "machine for printing" is from 1535; extended to publishing houses by 1579 and to publishing generally (in phrases like freedom of the press) c.1680. This gradually shifted c.1800-1820 to "periodical publishing, journalism." Meaning "journalists collectively" is attested from 1926. Press agent is from 1883; press conference is attested from 1937, though the thing itself dates to at least World War I. Press secretary is recorded from 1959.

press  (v.1)
"push against," c.1300, from O.Fr. preser (13c.), from L. pressare "to press," frequentative of pressus, p.p. of premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress," from PIE *prem-/*pres- "to strike." Weight-lifting sense is attested from 1908.

press  (v.2)
"force into service," 1578, alteration (by association with press (v.1)) of prest (c.1360) "engage by loan, pay in advance," especially money paid to a soldier or sailor on enlisting, from L. præstare "to provide," from præ- "before" + stare "to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Related to præsto (adv.) "ready, available."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

press

In addition to the idioms beginning with press, also see hard pressed; hot off the press; push (press) one's luck; push (press) someone's buttons. Also see under push.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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