“presses” is a form of
press
/pɹɛs/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms presses pressing pressed prest pressest pressedst presseth
- noun An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.
- noun (countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item. “a flower press”
- noun (uncountable) A crowd.
- noun (countable) A printing machine. “Stop the presses!”
- noun (uncountable, collective) The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers). “according to a member of the press”
- noun (countable) A publisher.
- noun (countable, especially in Ireland and Scotland) An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard). “Put the cups in the press.”
- noun (countable, weightlifting) An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.
- verb (ambitransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.
- verb (transitive, mechanics, electronics) To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.
- verb (transitive) To compress, squeeze. “to press fruit for the purpose of extracting the juice”
- verb (transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.
- verb (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth. “to press cloth with a clothes-iron”
- verb (transitive, sewing) To flatten a selected area of fabric using an iron with an up-and-down, not sliding, motion, so as to avoid disturbing adjacent areas.
- verb (transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction. “to press a crowd back”
- verb (transitive, weightlifting) To force weight away from the body by extending the arms or legs.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
printing press closet cupboard pantry press-gang strike hit depress thring thrutch astringe compact telescope compactify condense densitize pack mash scrunch smush imperativeness insistence insistency pressure public press crush jam wardrobe mechanical press military press
Etymology
From Middle English presse (“throng, crowd, clothespress”), partially from Old English press (“clothespress”) (from Medieval Latin pressa) and from Old French presse (Modern French presse) from Old French presser (“to press”), from Latin pressāre, from pressus, past participle of premere (“to press”). Chiefly displaced native Middle English thring (“press, crowd, throng”) (from Old English þring (“a press, crowd, anything that presses or confines”)).
From Middle English pressen (“to crowd, thring, press”), from Old French presser (“to press”) (Modern French presser) from Latin pressāre, from pressus, past participle of premere "to press". Displaced native Middle English thringen (“to press, crowd, throng”) (from Old English þringan (“to press, crowd”)), Middle English thrasten (“to press, force, urge”) (from Old English þrǣstan (“to press, force”)), Old English þryscan (“to press”), Old English þȳwan (“to press, impress”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- verb To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.
- noun A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
- verb 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.
Etymology [Corrupt. fr. prest ready money advanced, a loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering service. See Prest, n.]
Etymology [For prest, confused with press.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “press”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details