The meaning of the word press

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pɹɛs/
• Rhymes: -ɛs

Etymology 1[edit]

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”). Displaced native Middle English thring (“press, crowd, throng”) (from Old English þring (“a press, crowd, anything that presses or confines”)).

Noun[edit]

press (countable and uncountable, plural presses)

1. An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.

   • 2004 10, “Maximum PC”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 25:

     Connecting to the service is almost idiot proof and takes just a few button presses.

   • 2020 August 7, Jonathan Liew, “Phil Foden stars to offer Manchester City glimpse of multiple futures”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     a slaloming winger putting lumpen defenders on their backsides, or even a sneaky centre-forward, using his boundless energy to lead the press and force mistakes.

2. (countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.

   a flower press

3. (countable) A printing machine.

   Synonym: printing press

   Stop the presses!

4. (uncountable, collective) The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers).

   according to a member of the press

   This article appeared in the press.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     From another point of view, it was a place without a soul. The well-to-do had hearts of stone; the rich were brutally bumptious; the Press, the Municipality, all the public men, were ridiculously, vaingloriously self-satisfied.

   • 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.

5. (countable) A publisher.
6. (countable, especially in Ireland and Scotland) An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard).

   Put the cups in the press.

   Put the ironing in the linen press.

   • 1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:

     But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶ […] The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a ‘bead’ could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, […].

7. (countable, weightlifting) An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.
   • 1974, Charles Gaines & George Butler, Pumping Iron: The Art and Sport of Bodybuilding, p.22:

     This is the fourth set of benchpresses. There will be five more; then there will be five sets of presses on an inclined bench […].

8. (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.

   He can even the match with a press.

   • 2012, Gary McCord, Golf For Dummies

     The way a press works is, say you’re two down after six holes; you can then start another bet (in effect another match) from the seventh hole, for the same amount, starting all square on the seventh tee.

   • 2014, Nicolae Sfetcu, Sports Betting (page 181)

     When a side is two or more points down in the match, they may request a press.

9. (countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.

   I would like some Concord press with my meal tonight.

10. A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.

    Synonym: press-gang

    • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

      I have misused the king’s press.

11. (obsolete) A crowd.
12. (psychology) In personology, any environmental factor that arouses a need in the individual.
    • 2009, Allison E. Smith, Ageing in Urban Neighbourhoods (page 88)

      The environmental comfort category is illustrative of cases in which there are low environmental presses matched against a number of personal competences.

Synonyms[edit]

• (storage space): See closet, cupboard, pantry

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

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”).

Verb[edit]

press (third-person singular simple present presses, present participle pressing, simple past and past participle pressed or prest)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.
2. (transitive, mechanics, electronics) To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.

   Synonyms: strike, hit, depress

3. (transitive) To compress, squeeze.

   Synonyms: thring, thrutch; see also Thesaurus:compress

   to press fruit for the purpose of extracting the juice

4. (transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.

   Synonym: hug

   • a. 1701 (date written)​, John Dryden, “The Last Parting of Hector and Andromache. From the Sixth Book of the Iliad.”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 456:

     With tears and ſmiles ſhe took her ſon, and preſs’d / Th’ illuſtrious infant to her fragrant breaſt.

5. (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth.

   to press a hat

6. (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.
7. (transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction.

   Synonyms: thring, thrutch

   to press a crowd back

8. (transitive, obsolete) To weigh upon, oppress, trouble.

   • c. 1621, John Fletcher, “act I, scene ii”, in The Pilgrim:

     He turns from us; / Alas, he weeps too! Something presses him / He would reveal, but dare not. Sir, be comforted.

9. (transitive) To force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly.

   Synonym: impel

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part III (A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdribb, Luggnagg, and Japan):

     The two gentlemen who conducted me to the island were pressed by their private affairs to return in three days.

10. To try to force (something upon someone).

    Synonyms: urge, inculcate

    to press the Bible on an audience

    • 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act II, page 27:

      He press’d a letter upon me within this hour.

    • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1:

      Be sure to press upon him every motive.

11. (transitive) To hasten, urge onward.

    to press a horse in a race

12. (transitive) To urge, beseech, entreat.

    • 1825, John Winthrop, The History of New England, volume II, page 29:

      God heard their prayers, wherein they earnestly pressed him for the honor of his great name.

13. (transitive) To lay stress upon.

    Synonym: emphasize

    • 1873, Matthew Arnold, “preface”, in Literature and Dogma:

      If we read but a very little, we naturally want to press it all; if we read a great deal, we are willing not to press the whole of what we read, and we learn what ought to be pressed and what not.

14. (transitive, intransitive) To throng, crowd.

    Synonyms: thring, thrutch; see also Thesaurus:assemble

15. (transitive, obsolete) To print.
16. To force into service, particularly into naval service.

    Synonym: press-gang

    • 1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

      The peaceful peasant to the wars is press’d.

Derived terms[edit]

• press charges
• press on

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• hot press (baking, laundry)
• hot off the press (printing)
• press down

References[edit]

• Entry for the imperfect and past participle in Webster’s dictionary
• “press”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “press”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Anagrams[edit]

• ERSPs, RESPs, SERPs, Spers

German[edit]

Verb[edit]

press

1. singular imperative of pressen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of pressen

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From the verb presse.

Noun[edit]

press n (definite singular presset, indefinite plural press, definite plural pressa or pressene)

1. pressure
2. (weightlifting) a press

[edit]

• trykk

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

press

1. imperative of presse

References[edit]

• “press” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “press_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the verb presse.

Noun[edit]

press n (definite singular presset, indefinite plural press, definite plural pressa)

1. pressure
2. (weightlifting) a press

[edit]

• trykk

References[edit]

• “press” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Spanish[edit]

Noun[edit]

press m (plural press)

1. press (exercise)

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

press c

1. a press; a tool that applies pressure (to make things flat, to make juice)
2. a (printing) press

   stoppa pressarna

   stop the presses

3. the press (newspapers, journalism as a branch of society)
4. (mental) pressure
5. a muscle exercise that applies pressure

Declension[edit]

Declension of press
	Singular	Plural
Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	press	pressen	pressar	pressarna
Genitive	press	pressens	pressars	pressarnas

[edit]

• apelsinpress
• bänkpress
• benpress
• blompress
• brevpress
• pressa
• pressbyrå
• pressfrihet
• pressning
• tryckpress

If you’d like to explore how the world of the university press world is gettin’ free, try this search on Google or Yahoo along with your favorite keywords: “university press” free download site:edu . ❋ Unknown (2009)

McCain and Palin are laughing at the press — and it’s the press ‘fault yahooBuzzArticleHeadline =’ McCain and Palin are laughing at the press — and it’s the press ‘fault’; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = ‘Article: The press throughout this race has walked away from any semblance of traditional standards, yet journalists seemed oblivious to the long-term implications of their chronic embrace of fluff. ❋ Unknown (2008)

A specialized type of hydraulic press is known as the “ram press”. ❋ Unknown (1991)

Oh! the Lord help you not to draw back, but to press on, _press on, press on_, never minding the consequences. ❋ Catherine Mumford Booth (1859)

I did with the onions and scallions neither, barring by great luck they’d be in and under the press here — (_running to look under the press_) — which they are, praised be God! in the far corner. ❋ Maria Edgeworth (1808)

Try these outside the box techniques: close grip bench press floor bench press (elbows on the floor) pin press* board press* ❋ Unknown (2009)

Thus, a vast concern is expressed for the “liberty of the press, ” and the utmost abhorrence of its “licentiousness”: but then, by the licentiousness of the press is meant every disclosure by which any abuse is brought to light and exposed to shame—by the “liberty of the press” is meant only publications from which no such inconvenience is to be apprehended; and the fallacy consists in employing the sham approbation of liberty as a mask for the real opposition to all free discussion. ❋ Unknown (1909)

The term press box is so familiar everyone feels like they know what goes on there. ❋ VINCE STATEN (2003)

If the video game press is all about hype, then I suppose it’d be nice to remove press from the equation altogether. ❋ SVGL (2008)

America, of which the die was broken in the coining press, has been for a long time promised to distinguished persons, you will no doubt not be surprised at the interest which I take that neither the delicacy of the donors nor the desire of the legatees should be compromised. ❋ J. F. Loubat (N/A)

Aluminized steel is ideal because it is available coiled — squeezed by rollers and then put into a lasso-like form that can be fed directly into a coining press. ❋ By DAVID L. GANZ (2011)

This press is an advancement from single stage in that you can save a little time in setup as you preset the dies in the turret and then need only rotate the turret to do the next stage of activity. ❋ Unknown (2009)

So IF she runs for Pres or Vice PRes and then the press is all over her family and letterman is still making jokes like he always has and always will .. is she gonna run off and quit her job? ❋ Unknown (2009)

Dawg was a young man in Alabama during the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s and the Alabama press was as cowed by the klan and the then racist state government and business establishment as the Mexican press is today. ❋ Unknown (2010)

stop being so press to see that concert.
you [pressed] [as hell] to talk to him, you’ve called him 10 times already.
why you so pressed to go to the [mall]? ❋ Arlean (2006)

i [gave] him/her press ❋ Holzandbeava (2005)

[i would] press her you know.
yeah [she’s decent] she’d get [pressed]. ❋ Reidyyyy (2010)

Girl, I need to [get big] mama to press my hair before the weekend!!
Why??!! You just gone sweat it back [nappy] again [humping] all weekend long…slut
Whatever………hater!! ❋ T T (2006)

the [plates] [go in] [the press]. ❋ Elburno (2008)

[Man], [my boy] had that press [the other day]. ❋ Ole Reliable (2008)

[Preston] and [Manny] were blatantly trying to press that [sic] girl. ❋ LBU (2003)

Shit, [i need] to go get my [clothes] [pressed] before they close! ❋ Sexy_1 (2005)

[dat] [baby] press her boyfriend [cut] her ❋ Gigi Princess (2008)

Why you being so press. ❋ NONE (2005)

Recent Examples on the Web

At a press briefing Thursday, Montreal officials said seven people were reported to have been in the building at the time of the fire.


—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Mar. 2023




BeiGene, a global biotech company with offices in China, Switzerland and Cambridge, Mass., expects to finish construction of a $700 million investment site in Hopewell, New Jersey next year, the company said in a press statement on Tuesday.


—Russell Flannery, Forbes, 22 Mar. 2023




The American-born, Nigerian singer-songwriter explained the album title in a press statement.


—Heran Mamo, Billboard, 21 Mar. 2023




On April 3, at a White House press briefing, the agency advised Americans to wear masks.


—Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2023




The First Amendment, largely considered the foundation of American democracy, only contains 45 words, yet provides that Congress shall not limit freedom of speech, press, petition, assembly, or religion.


—Jackie Valley, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Mar. 2023




Jason Sudeikis, of Ted Lasso, speaks from podium at White House as cast members, Toheeb Jimoh, Brett Goldstein, Hannah Waddingham and Brendan Hunt join Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for daily press briefing, Mar. 20, 2023, Washington, DC.


—CBS News, 20 Mar. 2023




There’s also a long political history of zines and community-building that led me to small-press work.


—Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2023




So why not save your sister the cost with these stylish Glamnetic press-on sets?


—Jasmine Gomez, Women’s Health, 20 Mar. 2023

The AcuRite What-To-Wear Weather Station also includes an alarm clock (with a 10-minute snooze button, too) that updates for Daylight Savings Time, and the screen can be backlit by pressing a button.


—Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Mar. 2023




Corcoran was pressed about, what was Trump doing at that intense time?


—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2023




Many formerly derelict ships and other barely seaworthy hulls were pressed into service to meet the demand.


—David Reamer | Alaska History, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Mar. 2023




By the end of the final, coaches were arguing with officials and players were pressing full-court.


—Ethan Fuller, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Mar. 2023




Everyone in the room had two green stickers, for Type A, and two pink stickers, for Type B; moderators began collecting the stickers as votes, pressing them onto the posters.


—Nick Romeo, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2023




In her prior role, Guarini, who has a doctorate in physics and holds 65 patents, launched Impact Science, which applies IBM’s know-how to pressing challenges such as sustainability and the future of work.


—Diane Brady, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023




Chew will be pressed to answer for the role TikTok played in those tragedies, the aides said.


—Anna Edgerton And Alex Barinka Bloomberg News (tns), al, 22 Mar. 2023




Afterward, the halves are pressed between flat plates to squeeze out the juice that is then collected in a cup.


—Dorkys Ramos, Bon Appétit, 22 Mar. 2023


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Britannica Dictionary definition of PRESS

Britannica Dictionary definition of PRESS