com·press • v. / kəmˈpres/ [tr.] (often be compressed) flatten by pressure; squeeze; press. ∎  [intr.] be squeezed or pressed together or into a smaller space: the land is sinking as the soil compresses. ∎  squeeze or press (two things) together: Violet compressed her lips together grimly. ∎  express in a shorter form; abridge. ∎  Comput. alter the form of (data) to reduce the amount of storage necessary. ∎  [as adj.] (compressed) chiefly Biol. having a narrow shape as if flattened, esp. sideways: most sea snakes have a compressed tail.• n. / ˈkämˌpres/ a pad of absorbent material pressed onto part of the body to relieve inflammation or stop bleeding: a cold compress.DERIVATIVES: com·press·i·bil·i·ty / kəmˌpresəˈbilitē/ n.com·press·i·ble adj.com·pres·sive / -ˈpresiv/ adj.

com·pres·sion / kəmˈpreshən/ • n. the action of compressing or being compressed. ∎  the reduction in volume (causing an increase in pressure) of the fuel mixture in an internal combustion engine before ignition.DERIVATIVES: com·pres·sion·al / -shənl/ adj.

compression Reduction of the space needed to define an entity using one of the many techniques available. The compression factor is the ratio of the storage size of an uncompressed representation to that of the compressed representation. See also data compression, image compression, speech compression.

compress press together XIV; condense XVIII. — OF. compresser or late L. compressāre, or f. pp. stem compress- of comprimere; see COM-, PRESS.
So compress sb. (surg.) mass of material formed into a pad. XVI. — F. compresse, f. compresser. compression XIV.

compression (kŏm-presh-ŏn) n. the state in which an organ, tissue, or part is subject to pressure. cerebral c. pressure on brain tissue from a cerebral tumour, intracranial haematoma, etc. c. venography see venography.