English words for 'contracting, binding, or compressing.'
Closest matches for "contracting, binding, or compressing." are ranked by semantic fit across dictionary definitions.
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verb
- (transitive) To compress, squeeze.
- squeeze or press together
- (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.
- (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth.
- (transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.
- To force into service, particularly into naval service.
- (transitive) To hasten, urge onward.
- (ambitransitive) To throng, crowd.
- (transitive, mechanics, electronics) To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.
- (transitive) To force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly.
- (transitive) To urge, beseech, entreat.
- (transitive) To lay stress upon.
- (ambitransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.
- (transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction.
- To try to force (something upon someone).
- be urgent
- 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
- lift weights
- ask for or request earnestly
- to be oppressive or burdensome
- press and smooth with a heated iron
- make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby
- place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure
- force or impel in an indicated direction
- press from a plastic
- exert pressure or force to or upon
- create by pressing
- crowd closely
noun
- (countable) A printing machine.
- (countable, weightlifting) An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.
- (countable, especially in Ireland and Scotland) An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard).
- (uncountable) A crowd.
- (countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.
- An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.
- A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
- (countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.
- (uncountable, collective) The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers).
- (countable) A publisher.
- (psychology) In personology, any environmental factor that arouses a need in the individual.
- (countable, golf, gambling) An additional bet in a golf match that duplicates an existing (usually losing) wager in value, but begins even at the time of the bet.
- a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
- a dense crowd of people
- a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead
- clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
- the print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines
- the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
- any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids
- a machine used for printing
- the state of demanding notice or attention
verb
- (transitive) To compress; to compact; to press into something or pack together.
- press or wedge together; pack together
- (transitive) To collide or strike, the act of impinging.
- (transitive, rare) To stamp or impress onto something.
- (transitive, figurative, proscribed) To significantly or strongly influence or affect; to have an impact on.
- have an effect upon
noun
- (chiefly medicine) A forced impinging.
- The striking of one body against another; collision.
- The force or energy of a collision of two objects.
- (figurative, proscribed) A significant or strong influence or effect.
- influencing strongly
- the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat
- the striking of one body against another
- a forceful consequence; a strong effect
verb
- (transitive) To fill by pressing or thronging together
- (transitive) To press by solicitation; to urge; to dun; hence, to treat discourteously or unreasonably.
- (transitive, often used with "out of" or "off") To push, to press, to shove.
- (transitive) To press or drive together, especially into a small space; to cram.
- (intransitive) To press forward; to advance by pushing.
- (nautical, of a square-rigged ship, transitive) To carry excessive sail in the hope of moving faster.
- (nautical) To approach another ship too closely when it has right of way.
- (intransitive) To press together or collect in numbers.
- cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
- approach a certain age or speed
- to gather together in large numbers
- fill or occupy to the point of overflowing
noun
- A group of people united or at least characterised by a common interest.
- (with definite article) The so-called lower orders of people; the populace; the vulgar.
- (now dialectal) A fiddle.
- A group of people congregated or collected into a close body without order.
- Several things collected or closely pressed together; also, some things adjacent to each other.
- an informal body of friends
- a large number of things or people considered together
verb
- (transitive) To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
- (intransitive) To become firm; stabilise.
- (transitive, colloquial) To grit one's teeth and bear; to push through something unpleasant.
- (transitive) To make firm or strong; fix securely.
- (transitive, UK, slang) To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.
- (intransitive, Australia) To shorten (of betting odds).
- (intransitive) To improve after decline.
- make taut or tauter
- become taut or tauter
adj
- Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.
- Not frivolous or fallacious; trustworthy; solid; dependable.
- Fixed (in opinion).
- Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)
- Durable, rigid (material state).
- Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.
- strong and sure
- not liable to fluctuate or especially to fall
- possessing the tone and resiliency of healthy tissue
- not subject to revision or change
- securely established
- securely fixed in place
- marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
- not soft or yielding to pressure
- (of especially a person's physical features) not shaking or trembling
- unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause
noun
adv
noun
- Any constraining or cementing force or material.
- (finance) A documentary obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract; a debenture.
- (law) A bail bond.
- (railways) A heavy copper wire or rod connecting adjacent rails of an electric railway track when used as a part of the electric circuit.
- Moral or political duty or obligation.
- (law) A document constituting evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds.
- (construction) In building, a specific pattern of bricklaying, based on overlapping rows or layers to give strength.
- A peasant; churl.
- An emotional link, connection or union; that which holds two or more people together, as in a friendship; a tie.
- (by ellipsis) Bond paper.
- (often in the plural) A physical connection which binds, a band.
- A vassal; serf; one held in bondage to a superior.
- (chemistry) A link or force between neighbouring atoms in a molecule.
- (Scotland) A mortgage.
- A binding agreement, a covenant.
- A partial payment made to show a provider that the customer is sincere about buying a product or a service. If the product or service is not purchased the customer then forfeits the bond.
- (uncountable) The state of being stored in a bonded warehouse
- a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest
- the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition
- a certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal
- a superior quality of strong durable white writing paper; originally made for printing documents
- a connection that fastens things together
- an electrical force linking atoms
- a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)
- (criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
adj
verb
- (transitive, electricity) To make a reliable electrical connection between two conductors (or any pieces of metal that may potentially become conductors).
- (transitive) To put in a bonded warehouse; to secure (goods) until the associated duties are paid.
- (transitive, chemistry) To form a chemical compound with.
- (transitive, construction) To lay bricks in a specific pattern.
- (transitive) To guarantee or secure a financial risk.
- (transitive) To connect, secure or tie with a bond; to bind.
- To bail out by means of a bail bond.
- (transitive) To cause to adhere (one material with another).
- To form a friendship or emotional connection.
- issue bonds on
- bring together in a common cause or emotion
- stick to firmly
- create social or emotional ties
verb
- To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.
- To taunt.
- (slang, vulgar) To have erect nipples.
- To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
- (informal) To make a quick, short journey or errand, usually a round trip.
- (Scotland, Northern England) To squeeze or pinch.
- To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.
- To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
- To annoy, as by nipping.
- sever or remove by pinching or snipping
- give a small sharp bite to
- squeeze tightly between the fingers
noun
- A small amount of food or drink, (particularly) a small amount of liquor.
- (nautical) A short turn in a rope.
- (Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario) A hamburger.
- A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
- Briskly cold weather.
- A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
- (papermaking) The place of intersection where one roll touches another
- A pinch with the nails or teeth.
- A biting sarcasm; a taunt.
- A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching
- (mining) A more or less gradual thinning out of a stratum.
- (slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A nipple, usually of a woman.
- A playful bite.
- the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth
- a small drink of liquor
- a small sharp bite or snip
- a tart spicy quality
- the property of being moderately cold
noun
- That which confines or contracts.
- A piece of wood having a curve corresponding to that of the upper part of the instep, on which the upper leather of a boot is stretched to give it the requisite shape.
- A clamp for carpentry or masonry.
- A painful contraction of a muscle which cannot be controlled; (sometimes) a similar pain even without noticeable contraction.
- a clamp for holding pieces of wood together while they are glued
- a strip of metal with ends bent at right angles; used to hold masonry together
- a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
verb
- To form on a cramp.
- (transitive) To restrain to a specific physical position, as if with a cramp.
- (intransitive) (of a muscle) To contract painfully and uncontrollably.
- To fasten or hold with, or as if with, a cramp iron.
- (by extension) To bind together; to unite.
- (transitive, figurative) To prohibit movement or expression of.
- (transitive) To affect with cramps or spasms.
- secure with a cramp
- suffer from sudden painful contraction of a muscle
- prevent the progress or free movement of
- affect with or as if with a cramp
verb
- (transitive) To crumple and squeeze to make more compact.
- (with object "one's face") To contract the muscles of one's face so as to draw their facial features together, out of pain, discomfort, uncertainty, etc.
- Alternative form of scranch.
- make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in; ‘crisp’ is archaic
- make a noise typical of an engine lacking lubricants
- sit on one's heels
noun
verb
adj
- closely and firmly united or packed together
- briefly giving the gist of something
- having a short and solid form or stature
- (of prose) Brief and pithy; not verbose.
- Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
- Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.
- Such that every open cover has a finite subcover. In a metric space, this is equivalent to being sequentially compact. In metric spaces with the Heine-Borel property, this is equivalent to being closed and bounded.
- Compact in the above sense and moreover Hausdorff.
noun
- a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action
- a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse
- a small and economical car
- A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
- An agreement or contract.
- An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.
- A slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powder puff, small enough to fit in a woman's purse, handbag, or pocket.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- make more compact by or as if by pressing
- (transitive) To make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
- (transitive) To condense into a more economic, easier format.
- (physics, transitive) To make a pulse or particle bunch shorter by applying dispersion to it.
- (transitive) To abridge.
- (computing, transitive) To make digital information smaller by encoding it using fewer bits.
- (intransitive) To be pressed together or folded by compression into a more economic, easier format.
noun
- a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever)
- A machine for compressing.
- (medicine) A multiply folded piece of cloth, a pouch of ice, etc., used to apply to a patient's skin, cover the dressing of wounds, and placed with the aid of a bandage to apply pressure on an injury.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- compress or concentrate
- cause to be smaller
- be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
- engage by written agreement
- reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
- enter into a contractual arrangement
- become smaller or draw together
- make or become more narrow or restricted
- (transitive) To enter into a contract with (someone or something).
- To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
- (intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant.
- (transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
- (grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
- (transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
- (ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
- To betroth; to affiance.
noun
- a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
- (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
- a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks they bid
- (informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.
- (bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
- (law) The document containing such an agreement.
- (law) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
- (law) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
- An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- (transitive) To apply pressure to from two or more sides at once.
- to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
- press firmly
- press or force
- to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
- squeeze tightly between the fingers
- hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
- squeeze like a wedge into a tight space
- obtain by coercion or intimidation
- (transitive) To remove something with difficulty, or apparent difficulty.
- (transitive, figurative) To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass.
- (transitive) To put in a difficult position by presenting two or more choices.
- (transitive) To embrace closely; to give a tight hug to.
- (transitive, baseball) To attempt to score a runner from third by bunting.
- (ambitransitive) To fit into a tight place.
noun
- an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power
- the act of forcing yourself (or being forced) into or through a restricted space
- a state in which there is a short supply of cash to lend to businesses and consumers and interest rates are high
- a situation in which increased costs cannot be passed on to the customer
- a tight or amorous embrace
- (slang) a person's girlfriend or boyfriend
- a twisting squeeze
- the act of gripping and pressing firmly
- An instance of squeezing.
- A hug or other affectionate grasp.
- (figuratively) A difficult position.
- A close or tight fit.
- A moulding, cast or other impression of an object, chiefly a design, inscription etc., especially by pressing wet paper onto the surface and peeling off when dry.
- (slang) A romantic partner.
- (slang) An illicit alcoholic drink made by squeezing Sterno through cheesecloth, etc., and mixing the result with fruit juice.
- (baseball) The act of bunting in an attempt to score a runner from third.
- (caving) A traversal of a narrow passage.
- (mining) The gradual closing of workings by the weight of the overlying strata.
- (card games) A play that forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks.
noun
- An increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction.
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- (astronomy) The deviation of a heavenly body from a spherical form.
- (music) The electronic process by which any sound's gain is automatically controlled.
- (computing) The process by which data is compressed.
- (automotive) The cycle of an internal combustion engine during which the fuel and air mixture is compressed.
- encoding information while reducing the bandwidth or bits required
- an increase in the density of something
- applying pressure
adj
- Compressed.
- Financially hurt or damaged.
- Very thin, as if drawn together.
- (of a person or the face) Tense and pale from cold, worry, or hunger.
- not having enough money to pay for necessities
- very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
- sounding as if the nose were pinched
- as if squeezed uncomfortably tight
verb
verb
- (transitive) To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down.
- (transitive) To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink.
- (transitive) In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.
- (intransitive) To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. Also used figuratively.)
- (transitive) To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc).
- (transitive, in particular) To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc).
- (transitive) To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish.
- (intransitive, with "in") To be established in a profession or in employment.
- (intransitive) To become compact due to sinking.
- (transitive) To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly.
- (intransitive) To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court.
- (intransitive) To become firm, dry, and hard, like the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared.
- (transitive) To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc).
- (intransitive, usually with "down", "in", "on" or another preposition) To become stationary or fixed; to come to rest.
- (intransitive) To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)
- (transitive) In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc.
- (intransitive) To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir.
- (transitive) To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition.
- (British, dialectal) To silence, especially by force.
- (transitive) To place in(to) a fixed or permanent condition or position or on(to) a permanent basis; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish or fix.
- (transitive) To cause to no longer be in a disturbed, confused or stormy; to quiet; to calm (nerves, waters, a boisterous or rebellious child, etc).
- To kill.
- (intransitive) To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, for example the foundation of a house, etc.
- (intransitive) To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute.
- (intransitive) To become married, or a householder.
- (transitive, colloquial) To pay (a bill).
- (ambitransitive) Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.
- (transitive) To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due.
- (transitive) To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
- (transitive, law) To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person).
- (intransitive) To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.
- (transitive) To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).
- settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
- form a community
- come to terms
- sink down or precipitate
- end a legal dispute by arriving at a settlement
- become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
- bring to an end; settle conclusively
- accept despite lack of complete satisfaction
- arrange or fix in the desired order
- go under
- become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet
- make final; put the last touches on; put into final form
- take up residence and become established
- cause to become clear by forming a sediment (of liquids)
- fix firmly
- dispose of; make a financial settlement
- settle conclusively; come to terms
- come as if by falling
- become clear by the sinking of particles
- come to rest
- establish or develop as a residence
- get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury
noun
adj
- Physically drawn together, folded or contracted.
- Not allowing entrance to visitors or the public.
- Not public.
- (mathematics, logic, of a formula) Lacking a free variable.
- (heraldry) Synonym of close.
- (phonology) Formed by closing the mouth and nose passages completely, like the consonants /t/, /d/, and /p/.
- Of a competition or tournament: with the competitors restricted to a specific group, such as professionals, amateurs, members or residents.
- (electricity, of a switch or circuit breaker) In a position allowing electricity to flow.
- (of a store or business) Not operating or conducting trade.
- Having one end joined to the other, forming a completed loop.
- Settled; decided or determined; withdrawn from consideration.
- (especially sports) Of a club, bat or other hitting implement; angled downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight.
- (phonology) Having the sound cut off sharply by a following consonant, like the /ɪ/ in pin.
- (geometry, of a curve) Lacking endpoints. For parametric curves, with the same image for the ends of the domain.
- (geometry, of a surface) Lacking a boundary.
- (graph theory, of a walk) Whose first and last vertices are the same, forming a closed loop.
- Sealed or covered.
- (mathematics, of a set) Such that its image under the specified operation is contained in it.
- Not available for use or operation.
- (computing, of a file, document, etc.) Not in current use; not connected to as a resource.
- Not receptive.
- (topology, of a set) Having an open complement.
- (of a multi-word compound) Having component words joined together without spaces or hyphens; for example, timeslot as opposed to time slot or time-slot.
- Made impassable.
- (engineering, gas and liquid flow, of valve or damper) In a position preventing fluid from flowing.
- requiring union membership
- (set theory) of an interval that contains both its endpoints
- not open
- with shutters closed
- not open to the general public
- used especially of mouth or eyes
- blocked against entry
- not open or affording passage or access
- not having an open mind
verb
verb
- compress or concentrate
- make denser, stronger, or purer
- cook until very little liquid is left
- make central
- be cooked until very little liquid is left
- make more concise
- direct one's attention on something
- draw together or meet in one common center
- (ergative) To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force.
- (intransitive) To focus one's thought or attention (on).
- To approach or meet in a common center; to consolidate.
- To increase the strength and diminish the bulk of, as of a liquid or an ore; to intensify, by getting rid of useless material; to condense.
noun
adj
verb
- compress or concentrate
- develop due to condensation
- become more compact or concentrated
- make more concise
- undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops
- concentrate by removing water from
- cause a gas or vapor to change into a liquid
- (intransitive, chemistry) To be transformed from a gaseous state into a liquid state.
- (transitive, chemistry) To transform from a gaseous state into a liquid state via condensation.
- (transitive) To concentrate toward the essence by making more close, compact, or dense, thereby decreasing size or volume.
adj
- closely constrained or constricted or constricting
- securely or solidly fixed in place; rigid
- (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched
- of textiles
- pulled or drawn tight
- set so close together as to be invulnerable to penetration
- very drunk
- demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
- of such close construction as to be impermeable
- pressed tightly together
- affected by scarcity and expensive to borrow
- exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
- packed closely together
- (used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
- (informal, figurative, of persons or relationships) Intimate, close, close-knit, intimately friendly.
- (poker) Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands.
- Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
- (of a space, design or arrangement) Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
- Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
- (colloquial) Scarce, hard to come by.
- Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.
- (poker) Of a player, who plays very few hands.
- Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
- (slang) Intoxicated; drunk.
- (slang, figurative, usually derogatory) Miserly or frugal.
- (US, slang, motor racing) With understeer, primarily used to describe NASCAR stock cars.
- Unyielding or firm.
- (of time) Limited or restricted.
- (sports) Not conceding many goals.
- (New York, slang) Angry or irritated.
- (slang, Northern England, chiefly Liverpool) Mean; unfair; unkind.
- Under high tension; taut.
- (slang) Short of money.
- (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.
- (slang, vulgar) Of a person, having a tight vagina or anus.
- Close, very similar in a value such as score or time.
- Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
adv
verb
- (transitive) To relieve the pressure or compression on something.
- (transitive) To bring someone (such as a diver) back to normal atmospheric pressure after being exposed to high pressure.
- (intransitive, informal) To relax.
- (intransitive) To adjust to normal atmospheric pressure after being exposed to high pressure.
- (transitive, computing) To restore (compressed data) to its original form.
- decrease the pressure of
- restore to its uncompressed form
- become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
noun
- the condition of being pressed closely together and firmly fixed
- a disorder in which feces are impacted in the lower colon
- a disorder in which a tooth is so crowded in its socket that it cannot erupt normally
- a sharp collision produced by striking or dashing against something
- (dentistry) Failure of a tooth to erupt into the dental arch, because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue, or other factor.
- something packed together tightly; a mass of densely-packed matter
- Compression; the packing together of loose matter.
- (education) The situation where an educational institute, usually a college or university, receives more applications from qualified applicants than the number of spaces available, meaning that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance.
- (medicine) A solid, immobile bulk of stool.
noun
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- (psychoanalysis) an unconscious process whereby two ideas or images combine into a single symbol; especially in dreams
- a shortened version of a written work
- the process of changing from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state
- the act of increasing the density of something
- atmospheric moisture that has condensed because of cold
- A condensed work; an abridged version or compendium.
- (psychology) when a single idea (an image, memory, or thought) or dream object stands for several associations and ideas.
- (physics, physical chemistry) The conversion of a gas to a liquid.
- The condensate so formed.
- The accumulation of water due to contact between the air's water vapour and a cold surface such as a glass, window, wall, etc.
- The state of being condensed.
- The act or process of condensing or of being condensed
- (chemistry) The reaction of two substances with the simultaneous loss of water or other small molecule.
- (graph theory, countable) For a given directed graph G, a directed acyclic graph with one vertex for each strongly connected component of G, and an edge connecting pairs of components that contain the two endpoints of at least one edge in G.
noun
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope
- a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds
- (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)
- An act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative).
- (linguistics) A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are reduced or lost, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word.
- (ring theory, of an ideal in the codomain of a ring homomorphism) The preimage of the given ideal under the given homomorphism.
- (biology, medicine) The process of contracting or becoming infected with a disease.
- (orthography) In the English language: a shortened form of a word, often with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe or a diacritical mark.
- (biology, medicine) A stage of wound healing during which the wound edges are gradually pulled together.
- (linguistics, phonology, prosody) Synonym of syncope (“the elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable”).
- (biology, medicine) A shortening of a muscle during its use; specifically, a strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
- (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
- (by extension) A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
verb
- solidify, firm, or strengthen
- represent in bodily form
- establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
- make real or concrete; give reality or substance to
- (transitive) To verify something by supplying evidence; to authenticate or corroborate.
- (transitive) To give material form or substance to something; to embody; to record in documents
verb
- To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.
- To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
- (transitive, intransitive) To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.
- To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
- To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
- (nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.
- To confront with questions, demands or requests.
- To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
- cause to be alert and energetic
- support by bracing
- support or hold steady and make steadfast, with or as if with a brace
- prepare (oneself), often but not necessarily for something unpleasant or difficult
noun
- The state of being braced or tight; tension.
- A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
- (British, chiefly in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
- A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
- A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
- That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
- (nautical) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
- (soccer) Two goals scored by one player in a game.
- (typography) A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
- (plural brace) A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)
- Harness; warlike preparation.
- (plural in North America, singular or plural in the UK) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
- A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
- (British, Cornwall, mining) The mouth of a shaft.
- (cricket) Two wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries.
- a rope on a square-rigged ship that is used to swing a yard about and secure it
- a structural member used to stiffen a framework
- an appliance that corrects dental irregularities
- a set of two similar things considered as a unit
- a support that steadies or strengthens something else
- elastic straps that hold trousers up
- a carpenter's tool having a crank handle for turning and a socket to hold a bit for boring
- either of two punctuation marks (‘{’ or ‘}’) used to enclose textual material
- two items of the same kind
verb
- Of a thing (especially a slender structure under compression): to collapse or distort under physical pressure.
- To apply oneself to or prepare for a task or work.
- (figurative) Of a person: to (suddenly) cease resisting pressure or stress; to give in or give way, to yield.
- (obsolete except British, dialectal) To participate in some contest or labour; to join in close fight; to contend.
- (British, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite with someone in marriage; to marry.
- (British, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite (people) in marriage; to marry.
- To fasten (something) using a buckle (noun etymology 1 sense 1); hence (obsolete), to fasten (something) in any way.
- To cause (something) to bend, or to become distorted.
- (reflexive) To apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work; also (obsolete), to equip (oneself) for a battle, expedition, etc.
- fold or collapse
- bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat
- fasten with a buckle or buckles
noun
- A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.
- (Canada, heraldry) An image of a clasp (etymology 1 sense 1) used as the brisure of an eighth daughter.
- (by extension) Some other form of clasp used to fasten two things together.
- (countable) A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink.
- (countable, Canada, US, baking) Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a cake baked with fresh fruit (often blueberries) and a streusel topping.
- A great conflict or struggle.
- (roofing) An upward, elongated displacement of a roof membrane, frequently occurring over deck joints or insulation, which may indicate movement of the roof assembly.
- a shape distorted by twisting or folding
- fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong
verb
noun
- (countable) The sound or action of something, especially something moist, being squeezed or crushed.
- (slang) A non-romantic and generally non-sexual infatuation with somebody one is not dating, or the object of that infatuation; a platonic crush.
- (countable, politics, informal, derogatory) A political moderate.
- the noise of soft mud being walked on
verb
adv
conj
det
pron
verb
- (transitive, intransitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp.
- (transitive) To hold or grip tightly.
- (transitive) To modify (a numeric value) so it lies within a specific range by replacing values outside the range with the closest value within the range.
- (transitive) To immobilise (a vehicle) by means of a wheel clamp.
- impose or inflict forcefully
- fasten or fix with a clamp
noun
- (medicine) An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
- (electronics) An electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value.
- A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
- A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
- (agriculture) A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
- A pile of materials to be heated in a controlled way, stacked or heaped together with fuel so that the fire permeates the pile; the material of interest may be bricks to be fired, ore for roasting, coal for coking, or wood to be charcoalized.
- (UK) A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
- a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together
noun
- Any constraining or cementing force or material.
- (finance) A documentary obligation to pay a sum or to perform a contract; a debenture.
- (law) A bail bond.
- (railways) A heavy copper wire or rod connecting adjacent rails of an electric railway track when used as a part of the electric circuit.
- Moral or political duty or obligation.
- (law) A document constituting evidence of a long-term debt, by which the bond issuer (the borrower) is obliged to pay interest when due, and repay the principal at maturity, as specified on the face of the bond certificate. The rights of the holder are specified in the bond indenture, which contains the legal terms and conditions under which the bond was issued. Bonds are available in two forms: registered bonds, and bearer bonds.
- (construction) In building, a specific pattern of bricklaying, based on overlapping rows or layers to give strength.
- A peasant; churl.
- An emotional link, connection or union; that which holds two or more people together, as in a friendship; a tie.
- (by ellipsis) Bond paper.
- (often in the plural) A physical connection which binds, a band.
- A vassal; serf; one held in bondage to a superior.
- (chemistry) A link or force between neighbouring atoms in a molecule.
- (Scotland) A mortgage.
- A binding agreement, a covenant.
- A partial payment made to show a provider that the customer is sincere about buying a product or a service. If the product or service is not purchased the customer then forfeits the bond.
- (uncountable) The state of being stored in a bonded warehouse
- a connection based on kinship or marriage or common interest
- the property of sticking together (as of glue and wood) or the joining of surfaces of different composition
- a certificate of debt (usually interest-bearing or discounted) that is issued by a government or corporation in order to raise money; the issuer is required to pay a fixed sum annually until maturity and then a fixed sum to repay the principal
- a superior quality of strong durable white writing paper; originally made for printing documents
- a connection that fastens things together
- an electrical force linking atoms
- a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner)
- (criminal law) money that must be forfeited by the bondsman if an accused person fails to appear in court for trial
adj
verb
- (transitive, electricity) To make a reliable electrical connection between two conductors (or any pieces of metal that may potentially become conductors).
- (transitive) To put in a bonded warehouse; to secure (goods) until the associated duties are paid.
- (transitive, chemistry) To form a chemical compound with.
- (transitive, construction) To lay bricks in a specific pattern.
- (transitive) To guarantee or secure a financial risk.
- (transitive) To connect, secure or tie with a bond; to bind.
- To bail out by means of a bail bond.
- (transitive) To cause to adhere (one material with another).
- To form a friendship or emotional connection.
- issue bonds on
- bring together in a common cause or emotion
- stick to firmly
- create social or emotional ties
noun
- That which confines or contracts.
- A piece of wood having a curve corresponding to that of the upper part of the instep, on which the upper leather of a boot is stretched to give it the requisite shape.
- A clamp for carpentry or masonry.
- A painful contraction of a muscle which cannot be controlled; (sometimes) a similar pain even without noticeable contraction.
- a clamp for holding pieces of wood together while they are glued
- a strip of metal with ends bent at right angles; used to hold masonry together
- a painful and involuntary muscular contraction
verb
- To form on a cramp.
- (transitive) To restrain to a specific physical position, as if with a cramp.
- (intransitive) (of a muscle) To contract painfully and uncontrollably.
- To fasten or hold with, or as if with, a cramp iron.
- (by extension) To bind together; to unite.
- (transitive, figurative) To prohibit movement or expression of.
- (transitive) To affect with cramps or spasms.
- secure with a cramp
- suffer from sudden painful contraction of a muscle
- prevent the progress or free movement of
- affect with or as if with a cramp
noun
- An increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction.
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- (astronomy) The deviation of a heavenly body from a spherical form.
- (music) The electronic process by which any sound's gain is automatically controlled.
- (computing) The process by which data is compressed.
- (automotive) The cycle of an internal combustion engine during which the fuel and air mixture is compressed.
- encoding information while reducing the bandwidth or bits required
- an increase in the density of something
- applying pressure
noun
- the condition of being pressed closely together and firmly fixed
- a disorder in which feces are impacted in the lower colon
- a disorder in which a tooth is so crowded in its socket that it cannot erupt normally
- a sharp collision produced by striking or dashing against something
- (dentistry) Failure of a tooth to erupt into the dental arch, because of adjacent teeth, dense overlying bone, excessive soft tissue, or other factor.
- something packed together tightly; a mass of densely-packed matter
- Compression; the packing together of loose matter.
- (education) The situation where an educational institute, usually a college or university, receives more applications from qualified applicants than the number of spaces available, meaning that meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee acceptance.
- (medicine) A solid, immobile bulk of stool.
noun
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- (psychoanalysis) an unconscious process whereby two ideas or images combine into a single symbol; especially in dreams
- a shortened version of a written work
- the process of changing from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state
- the act of increasing the density of something
- atmospheric moisture that has condensed because of cold
- A condensed work; an abridged version or compendium.
- (psychology) when a single idea (an image, memory, or thought) or dream object stands for several associations and ideas.
- (physics, physical chemistry) The conversion of a gas to a liquid.
- The condensate so formed.
- The accumulation of water due to contact between the air's water vapour and a cold surface such as a glass, window, wall, etc.
- The state of being condensed.
- The act or process of condensing or of being condensed
- (chemistry) The reaction of two substances with the simultaneous loss of water or other small molecule.
- (graph theory, countable) For a given directed graph G, a directed acyclic graph with one vertex for each strongly connected component of G, and an edge connecting pairs of components that contain the two endpoints of at least one edge in G.
noun
- the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together
- the act of decreasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope
- a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds
- (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)
- An act of incurring debt; also (generally), an act of acquiring something (generally negative).
- (linguistics) A process whereby one or more sounds of a free morpheme (a word) are reduced or lost, such that it becomes a bound morpheme (a clitic) that attaches phonologically to an adjacent word.
- (ring theory, of an ideal in the codomain of a ring homomorphism) The preimage of the given ideal under the given homomorphism.
- (biology, medicine) The process of contracting or becoming infected with a disease.
- (orthography) In the English language: a shortened form of a word, often with omitted letters replaced by an apostrophe or a diacritical mark.
- (biology, medicine) A stage of wound healing during which the wound edges are gradually pulled together.
- (linguistics, phonology, prosody) Synonym of syncope (“the elision or loss of a sound from the interior of a word, especially of a vowel sound with loss of a syllable”).
- (biology, medicine) A shortening of a muscle during its use; specifically, a strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
- (economics) A period of economic decline or negative growth.
- (by extension) A shorthand symbol indicating an omission for the purpose of brevity.
verb
- (transitive) To compress, squeeze.
- squeeze or press together
- (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.
- (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth.
- (transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.
- To force into service, particularly into naval service.
- (transitive) To hasten, urge onward.
- (ambitransitive) To throng, crowd.
- (transitive, mechanics, electronics) To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.
- (transitive) To force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly.
- (transitive) To urge, beseech, entreat.
- (transitive) To lay stress upon.
- (ambitransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.
- (transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction.
- To try to force (something upon someone).
- be urgent
- 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
- lift weights
- ask for or request earnestly
- to be oppressive or burdensome
- press and smooth with a heated iron
- make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby
- place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure
- force or impel in an indicated direction
- press from a plastic
- exert pressure or force to or upon
- create by pressing
- crowd closely
noun
- (countable) A printing machine.
- (countable, weightlifting) An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.
- (countable, especially in Ireland and Scotland) An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard).
- (uncountable) A crowd.
- (countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.
- An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.
- A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
- (countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.
- (uncountable, collective) The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers).
- (countable) A publisher.
- (psychology) In personology, any environmental factor that arouses a need in the individual.
- (countable, golf, gambling) An additional bet in a golf match that duplicates an existing (usually losing) wager in value, but begins even at the time of the bet.
- a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
- a dense crowd of people
- a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead
- clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
- the print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines
- the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
- any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids
- a machine used for printing
- the state of demanding notice or attention
verb
- (transitive) To compress; to compact; to press into something or pack together.
- press or wedge together; pack together
- (transitive) To collide or strike, the act of impinging.
- (transitive, rare) To stamp or impress onto something.
- (transitive, figurative, proscribed) To significantly or strongly influence or affect; to have an impact on.
- have an effect upon
noun
- (chiefly medicine) A forced impinging.
- The striking of one body against another; collision.
- The force or energy of a collision of two objects.
- (figurative, proscribed) A significant or strong influence or effect.
- influencing strongly
- the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat
- the striking of one body against another
- a forceful consequence; a strong effect
verb
- (transitive) To fill by pressing or thronging together
- (transitive) To press by solicitation; to urge; to dun; hence, to treat discourteously or unreasonably.
- (transitive, often used with "out of" or "off") To push, to press, to shove.
- (transitive) To press or drive together, especially into a small space; to cram.
- (intransitive) To press forward; to advance by pushing.
- (nautical, of a square-rigged ship, transitive) To carry excessive sail in the hope of moving faster.
- (nautical) To approach another ship too closely when it has right of way.
- (intransitive) To press together or collect in numbers.
- cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
- approach a certain age or speed
- to gather together in large numbers
- fill or occupy to the point of overflowing
noun
- A group of people united or at least characterised by a common interest.
- (with definite article) The so-called lower orders of people; the populace; the vulgar.
- (now dialectal) A fiddle.
- A group of people congregated or collected into a close body without order.
- Several things collected or closely pressed together; also, some things adjacent to each other.
- an informal body of friends
- a large number of things or people considered together
verb
- (transitive) To make compact or resistant to pressure; solidify.
- (intransitive) To become firm; stabilise.
- (transitive, colloquial) To grit one's teeth and bear; to push through something unpleasant.
- (transitive) To make firm or strong; fix securely.
- (transitive, UK, slang) To select (a higher education institution) as one's preferred choice, so as to enrol automatically if one's grades match the conditional offer.
- (intransitive, Australia) To shorten (of betting odds).
- (intransitive) To improve after decline.
- make taut or tauter
- become taut or tauter
adj
- Insistent upon something, not accepting dissent.
- Not frivolous or fallacious; trustworthy; solid; dependable.
- Fixed (in opinion).
- Steadfast, secure, solid (in position)
- Durable, rigid (material state).
- Mentally resistant to hurt or stress.
- strong and sure
- not liable to fluctuate or especially to fall
- possessing the tone and resiliency of healthy tissue
- not subject to revision or change
- securely established
- securely fixed in place
- marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
- not soft or yielding to pressure
- (of especially a person's physical features) not shaking or trembling
- unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause
noun
adv
verb
- To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.
- To taunt.
- (slang, vulgar) To have erect nipples.
- To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
- (informal) To make a quick, short journey or errand, usually a round trip.
- (Scotland, Northern England) To squeeze or pinch.
- To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.
- To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
- To annoy, as by nipping.
- sever or remove by pinching or snipping
- give a small sharp bite to
- squeeze tightly between the fingers
noun
- A small amount of food or drink, (particularly) a small amount of liquor.
- (nautical) A short turn in a rope.
- (Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario) A hamburger.
- A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
- Briskly cold weather.
- A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
- (papermaking) The place of intersection where one roll touches another
- A pinch with the nails or teeth.
- A biting sarcasm; a taunt.
- A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching
- (mining) A more or less gradual thinning out of a stratum.
- (slang, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A nipple, usually of a woman.
- A playful bite.
- the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth
- a small drink of liquor
- a small sharp bite or snip
- a tart spicy quality
- the property of being moderately cold
verb
- (transitive) To crumple and squeeze to make more compact.
- (with object "one's face") To contract the muscles of one's face so as to draw their facial features together, out of pain, discomfort, uncertainty, etc.
- Alternative form of scranch.
- make wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in; ‘crisp’ is archaic
- make a noise typical of an engine lacking lubricants
- sit on one's heels
noun
verb
adj
- closely and firmly united or packed together
- briefly giving the gist of something
- having a short and solid form or stature
- (of prose) Brief and pithy; not verbose.
- Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
- Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.
- Such that every open cover has a finite subcover. In a metric space, this is equivalent to being sequentially compact. In metric spaces with the Heine-Borel property, this is equivalent to being closed and bounded.
- Compact in the above sense and moreover Hausdorff.
noun
- a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action
- a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse
- a small and economical car
- A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
- An agreement or contract.
- An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.
- A slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powder puff, small enough to fit in a woman's purse, handbag, or pocket.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- make more compact by or as if by pressing
- (transitive) To make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
- (transitive) To condense into a more economic, easier format.
- (physics, transitive) To make a pulse or particle bunch shorter by applying dispersion to it.
- (transitive) To abridge.
- (computing, transitive) To make digital information smaller by encoding it using fewer bits.
- (intransitive) To be pressed together or folded by compression into a more economic, easier format.
noun
- a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever)
- A machine for compressing.
- (medicine) A multiply folded piece of cloth, a pouch of ice, etc., used to apply to a patient's skin, cover the dressing of wounds, and placed with the aid of a bandage to apply pressure on an injury.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- compress or concentrate
- cause to be smaller
- be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness
- engage by written agreement
- reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
- enter into a contractual arrangement
- become smaller or draw together
- make or become more narrow or restricted
- (transitive) To enter into a contract with (someone or something).
- To draw together so as to wrinkle; to knit.
- (intransitive) To make an agreement or contract; to covenant.
- (transitive) To bring on; to incur; to acquire.
- (grammar) To shorten by omitting a letter or letters or by reducing two or more vowels or syllables to one.
- (transitive) To gain or acquire (an illness).
- (ambitransitive) To draw together or nearer; to shorten, narrow, or lessen.
- To betroth; to affiance.
noun
- a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
- (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make
- a variety of bridge in which the bidder receives points toward game only for the number of tricks they bid
- (informal) An order, usually given to a hired assassin, to kill someone.
- (bridge) The declarer's undertaking to win the number of tricks bid with a stated suit as trump.
- (law) The document containing such an agreement.
- (law) An agreement which the law will enforce in some way. A legally binding contract must contain at least one promise, i.e., a commitment or offer, by an offeror to and accepted by an offeree to do something in the future. A contract is thus executory rather than executed.
- (law) A part of legal studies dealing with laws and jurisdiction related to contracts.
- An agreement between two or more parties, to perform a specific job or work order, often temporary or of fixed duration and usually governed by a written agreement.
verb
- squeeze or press together
- (transitive) To apply pressure to from two or more sides at once.
- to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
- press firmly
- press or force
- to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition
- squeeze tightly between the fingers
- hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
- squeeze like a wedge into a tight space
- obtain by coercion or intimidation
- (transitive) To remove something with difficulty, or apparent difficulty.
- (transitive, figurative) To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass.
- (transitive) To put in a difficult position by presenting two or more choices.
- (transitive) To embrace closely; to give a tight hug to.
- (transitive, baseball) To attempt to score a runner from third by bunting.
- (ambitransitive) To fit into a tight place.
noun
- an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power
- the act of forcing yourself (or being forced) into or through a restricted space
- a state in which there is a short supply of cash to lend to businesses and consumers and interest rates are high
- a situation in which increased costs cannot be passed on to the customer
- a tight or amorous embrace
- (slang) a person's girlfriend or boyfriend
- a twisting squeeze
- the act of gripping and pressing firmly
- An instance of squeezing.
- A hug or other affectionate grasp.
- (figuratively) A difficult position.
- A close or tight fit.
- A moulding, cast or other impression of an object, chiefly a design, inscription etc., especially by pressing wet paper onto the surface and peeling off when dry.
- (slang) A romantic partner.
- (slang) An illicit alcoholic drink made by squeezing Sterno through cheesecloth, etc., and mixing the result with fruit juice.
- (baseball) The act of bunting in an attempt to score a runner from third.
- (caving) A traversal of a narrow passage.
- (mining) The gradual closing of workings by the weight of the overlying strata.
- (card games) A play that forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks.
verb
- (transitive) To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down.
- (transitive) To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink.
- (transitive) In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties.
- (intransitive) To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. Also used figuratively.)
- (transitive) To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc).
- (transitive, in particular) To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc).
- (transitive) To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish.
- (intransitive, with "in") To be established in a profession or in employment.
- (intransitive) To become compact due to sinking.
- (transitive) To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly.
- (intransitive) To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court.
- (intransitive) To become firm, dry, and hard, like the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared.
- (transitive) To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc).
- (intransitive, usually with "down", "in", "on" or another preposition) To become stationary or fixed; to come to rest.
- (intransitive) To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.)
- (transitive) In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc.
- (intransitive) To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir.
- (transitive) To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition.
- (British, dialectal) To silence, especially by force.
- (transitive) To place in(to) a fixed or permanent condition or position or on(to) a permanent basis; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish or fix.
- (transitive) To cause to no longer be in a disturbed, confused or stormy; to quiet; to calm (nerves, waters, a boisterous or rebellious child, etc).
- To kill.
- (intransitive) To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, for example the foundation of a house, etc.
- (intransitive) To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute.
- (intransitive) To become married, or a householder.
- (transitive, colloquial) To pay (a bill).
- (ambitransitive) Of an animal: to make or become pregnant.
- (transitive) To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due.
- (transitive) To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something).
- (transitive, law) To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person).
- (intransitive) To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated.
- (transitive) To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place).
- settle into a position, usually on a surface or ground
- form a community
- come to terms
- sink down or precipitate
- end a legal dispute by arriving at a settlement
- become settled or established and stable in one's residence or life style
- bring to an end; settle conclusively
- accept despite lack of complete satisfaction
- arrange or fix in the desired order
- go under
- become resolved, fixed, established, or quiet
- make final; put the last touches on; put into final form
- take up residence and become established
- cause to become clear by forming a sediment (of liquids)
- fix firmly
- dispose of; make a financial settlement
- settle conclusively; come to terms
- come as if by falling
- become clear by the sinking of particles
- come to rest
- establish or develop as a residence
- get one's revenge for a wrong or an injury
noun
verb
- compress or concentrate
- make denser, stronger, or purer
- cook until very little liquid is left
- make central
- be cooked until very little liquid is left
- make more concise
- direct one's attention on something
- draw together or meet in one common center
- (ergative) To bring to, or direct toward, a common center; to unite more closely; to gather into one body, mass, or force.
- (intransitive) To focus one's thought or attention (on).
- To approach or meet in a common center; to consolidate.
- To increase the strength and diminish the bulk of, as of a liquid or an ore; to intensify, by getting rid of useless material; to condense.
noun
adj
verb
- compress or concentrate
- develop due to condensation
- become more compact or concentrated
- make more concise
- undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops
- concentrate by removing water from
- cause a gas or vapor to change into a liquid
- (intransitive, chemistry) To be transformed from a gaseous state into a liquid state.
- (transitive, chemistry) To transform from a gaseous state into a liquid state via condensation.
- (transitive) To concentrate toward the essence by making more close, compact, or dense, thereby decreasing size or volume.
verb
- (transitive) To relieve the pressure or compression on something.
- (transitive) To bring someone (such as a diver) back to normal atmospheric pressure after being exposed to high pressure.
- (intransitive, informal) To relax.
- (intransitive) To adjust to normal atmospheric pressure after being exposed to high pressure.
- (transitive, computing) To restore (compressed data) to its original form.
- decrease the pressure of
- restore to its uncompressed form
- become less tense, rest, or take one's ease
verb
- solidify, firm, or strengthen
- represent in bodily form
- establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
- make real or concrete; give reality or substance to
- (transitive) To verify something by supplying evidence; to authenticate or corroborate.
- (transitive) To give material form or substance to something; to embody; to record in documents
verb
- To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen.
- To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly.
- (transitive, intransitive) To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow.
- To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police.
- To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly.
- (nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind.
- To confront with questions, demands or requests.
- To furnish with braces; to support; to prop.
- cause to be alert and energetic
- support by bracing
- support or hold steady and make steadfast, with or as if with a brace
- prepare (oneself), often but not necessarily for something unpleasant or difficult
noun
- The state of being braced or tight; tension.
- A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
- (British, chiefly in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
- A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension.
- A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell.
- That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
- (nautical) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
- (soccer) Two goals scored by one player in a game.
- (typography) A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves.
- (plural brace) A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.)
- Harness; warlike preparation.
- (plural in North America, singular or plural in the UK) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite.
- A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum.
- (British, Cornwall, mining) The mouth of a shaft.
- (cricket) Two wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries.
- a rope on a square-rigged ship that is used to swing a yard about and secure it
- a structural member used to stiffen a framework
- an appliance that corrects dental irregularities
- a set of two similar things considered as a unit
- a support that steadies or strengthens something else
- elastic straps that hold trousers up
- a carpenter's tool having a crank handle for turning and a socket to hold a bit for boring
- either of two punctuation marks (‘{’ or ‘}’) used to enclose textual material
- two items of the same kind
verb
- Of a thing (especially a slender structure under compression): to collapse or distort under physical pressure.
- To apply oneself to or prepare for a task or work.
- (figurative) Of a person: to (suddenly) cease resisting pressure or stress; to give in or give way, to yield.
- (obsolete except British, dialectal) To participate in some contest or labour; to join in close fight; to contend.
- (British, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite with someone in marriage; to marry.
- (British, dialectal (especially Scotland) or humorous) To unite (people) in marriage; to marry.
- To fasten (something) using a buckle (noun etymology 1 sense 1); hence (obsolete), to fasten (something) in any way.
- To cause (something) to bend, or to become distorted.
- (reflexive) To apply (oneself) to, or prepare (oneself) for, a task or work; also (obsolete), to equip (oneself) for a battle, expedition, etc.
- fold or collapse
- bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat
- fasten with a buckle or buckles
noun
- A metal clasp with a hinged tongue or a spike through which a belt or strap is passed and penetrated by the tongue or spike, in order to fasten the ends of the belt together or to secure the strap to something else.
- (Canada, heraldry) An image of a clasp (etymology 1 sense 1) used as the brisure of an eighth daughter.
- (by extension) Some other form of clasp used to fasten two things together.
- (countable) A distortion; a bend, bulge, or kink.
- (countable, Canada, US, baking) Usually preceded by a descriptive word: a cake baked with fresh fruit (often blueberries) and a streusel topping.
- A great conflict or struggle.
- (roofing) An upward, elongated displacement of a roof membrane, frequently occurring over deck joints or insulation, which may indicate movement of the roof assembly.
- a shape distorted by twisting or folding
- fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong
verb
noun
- (countable) The sound or action of something, especially something moist, being squeezed or crushed.
- (slang) A non-romantic and generally non-sexual infatuation with somebody one is not dating, or the object of that infatuation; a platonic crush.
- (countable, politics, informal, derogatory) A political moderate.
- the noise of soft mud being walked on
verb
adv
conj
det
pron
verb
- (transitive, intransitive) To fasten in place or together with (or as if with) a clamp.
- (transitive) To hold or grip tightly.
- (transitive) To modify (a numeric value) so it lies within a specific range by replacing values outside the range with the closest value within the range.
- (transitive) To immobilise (a vehicle) by means of a wheel clamp.
- impose or inflict forcefully
- fasten or fix with a clamp
noun
- (medicine) An instrument used to temporarily shut off blood vessels, etc.
- (electronics) An electronic circuit that fixes either the positive or the negative peak excursions of a signal to a defined value by shifting its DC value.
- A piece of wood (batten) across the grain of a board end to keep it flat, as in a breadboard.
- A brace, band, or clasp for strengthening or holding things that are apart together.
- (agriculture) A compact pile of agricultural produce (such as root vegetables or silage) used for temporary storage (often covered with straw, earth, or both).
- A pile of materials to be heated in a controlled way, stacked or heaped together with fuel so that the fire permeates the pile; the material of interest may be bricks to be fired, ore for roasting, coal for coking, or wood to be charcoalized.
- (UK) A parking enforcement device used to immobilise a car until it can be towed or a fine is paid; a wheel clamp.
- a device (generally used by carpenters) that holds things firmly together
adj
- Compressed.
- Financially hurt or damaged.
- Very thin, as if drawn together.
- (of a person or the face) Tense and pale from cold, worry, or hunger.
- not having enough money to pay for necessities
- very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
- sounding as if the nose were pinched
- as if squeezed uncomfortably tight
verb
adj
- Physically drawn together, folded or contracted.
- Not allowing entrance to visitors or the public.
- Not public.
- (mathematics, logic, of a formula) Lacking a free variable.
- (heraldry) Synonym of close.
- (phonology) Formed by closing the mouth and nose passages completely, like the consonants /t/, /d/, and /p/.
- Of a competition or tournament: with the competitors restricted to a specific group, such as professionals, amateurs, members or residents.
- (electricity, of a switch or circuit breaker) In a position allowing electricity to flow.
- (of a store or business) Not operating or conducting trade.
- Having one end joined to the other, forming a completed loop.
- Settled; decided or determined; withdrawn from consideration.
- (especially sports) Of a club, bat or other hitting implement; angled downwards and/or (for a right-hander) anticlockwise of straight.
- (phonology) Having the sound cut off sharply by a following consonant, like the /ɪ/ in pin.
- (geometry, of a curve) Lacking endpoints. For parametric curves, with the same image for the ends of the domain.
- (geometry, of a surface) Lacking a boundary.
- (graph theory, of a walk) Whose first and last vertices are the same, forming a closed loop.
- Sealed or covered.
- (mathematics, of a set) Such that its image under the specified operation is contained in it.
- Not available for use or operation.
- (computing, of a file, document, etc.) Not in current use; not connected to as a resource.
- Not receptive.
- (topology, of a set) Having an open complement.
- (of a multi-word compound) Having component words joined together without spaces or hyphens; for example, timeslot as opposed to time slot or time-slot.
- Made impassable.
- (engineering, gas and liquid flow, of valve or damper) In a position preventing fluid from flowing.
- requiring union membership
- (set theory) of an interval that contains both its endpoints
- not open
- with shutters closed
- not open to the general public
- used especially of mouth or eyes
- blocked against entry
- not open or affording passage or access
- not having an open mind
verb
adj
- closely constrained or constricted or constricting
- securely or solidly fixed in place; rigid
- (of a contest or contestants) evenly matched
- of textiles
- pulled or drawn tight
- set so close together as to be invulnerable to penetration
- very drunk
- demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
- of such close construction as to be impermeable
- pressed tightly together
- affected by scarcity and expensive to borrow
- exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
- packed closely together
- (used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
- (informal, figurative, of persons or relationships) Intimate, close, close-knit, intimately friendly.
- (poker) Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands.
- Fitting close, or too close, to the body.
- (of a space, design or arrangement) Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it.
- Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
- (colloquial) Scarce, hard to come by.
- Of a turn, sharp, so that the timeframe for making it is narrow and following it is difficult.
- (poker) Of a player, who plays very few hands.
- Lacking holes; difficult to penetrate; waterproof.
- (slang) Intoxicated; drunk.
- (slang, figurative, usually derogatory) Miserly or frugal.
- (US, slang, motor racing) With understeer, primarily used to describe NASCAR stock cars.
- Unyielding or firm.
- (of time) Limited or restricted.
- (sports) Not conceding many goals.
- (New York, slang) Angry or irritated.
- (slang, Northern England, chiefly Liverpool) Mean; unfair; unkind.
- Under high tension; taut.
- (slang) Short of money.
- (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.
- (slang, vulgar) Of a person, having a tight vagina or anus.
- Close, very similar in a value such as score or time.
- Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.