Definition: press
press
n 1: newspaper writers and photographers [syn: fourth estate]
2: the state of urgently demanding notice or attention; "the
press of business matters" [syn: imperativeness, insistence,
insistency, pressure]
3: printed matter in the form of newspapers or magazines [syn:
public press]
4: a machine used for printing [syn: printing press]
5: a dense crowd of people [syn: crush, jam]
6: a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for
clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
[syn: wardrobe, closet]
7: clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
8: any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut
materials or extract liquids or compress solids [syn: mechanical
press]
9: a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder
height and then smoothly lifted overhead [syn: military
press]
10: 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" [syn: pressure, pressing]
v 1: exert pressure or force to or upon; "He pressed down on the
boards"; "press your thumb on this spot"
2: force or impel in an indicated direction; "I urged him to
finish his studies" [syn: urge, urge on, exhort]
3: to be oppressive or burdensome; "weigh heavily on the mind",
"Something pressed on his mind" [syn: weigh]
4: place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure;
"pressed flowers"
5: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips" [syn: compress,
constrict, squeeze, compact, contract]
6: crowd closely; "The crowds pressed along the street"
7: create by pressing: "Press little holes into the soft clay"
8: be urgent; "This is a pressing problem"
9: 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" [syn: crusade, fight,
campaign, push, agitate]
10: press from a plastic, as of records [syn: press out]
11: make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the
baby; "Now push hard," said the doctor to the woman"
[syn: push]
12: lift weights [syn: weightlift]
13: ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to
become good persons" [syn: bid, beseech, entreat, adjure,
conjure]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Press \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 \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.
Press \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 \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 \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 \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.
