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Webster 1913 Edition

Press

Press

,
Noun.
(Zool.)
An East Indian insectivore (
Tupaia ferruginea
). It is arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from rusty red to maroon and to brownish black.

Press

,
Verb.
T.
[Corrupt. fr.
prest
ready money advanced, a loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering service. See
Prest
,
Noun.
]
To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.
To peaceful peasant to the wars is
pressed
.
Dryden.

Press

,
Noun.
[For
prest
, confused with
press
.]
A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
I have misused the king’s
press
.
Shakespeare
Press gang
, or
Pressgang
,
a detachment of seamen under the command of an officer empowered to force men into the naval service. See
Impress gang
, under
Impress
.
–
Press money
,
money paid to a man enlisted into public service. See
Prest money
, under
Prest
,
Adj.

Press

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Pressed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Pressing
.]
[F.
presser
, fr. L.
pressare
to press, fr.
premere
,
pressum
, to press. Cf.
Print
,
Verb.
]
1.
To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel by a gradual and continued exertion; to bear upon; to squeeze; to compress;
as, we
press
the ground with the feet when we walk; we
press
the couch on which we repose; we
press
substances with the hands, fingers, or arms; we are
pressed
in a crowd.
Good measure,
pressed
down, and shaken together.
Luke vi. 38.
2.
To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of; to squeeze out, or express, from something.
From sweet kernels
pressed
,
She tempers dulcet creams.
Milton.
And I took the grapes, and
pressed
them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Gen. xl. 11.
3.
To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus, in order to compact, make dense, or smooth;
as, to
press
cotton bales, paper, etc.
; to smooth by ironing;
as, to
press
clothes
.
4.
To embrace closely; to hug.
Leucothoe shook at these alarms,
And
pressed
Palemon closer in her arms.
Pope.
5.
To oppress; to bear hard upon.
Press
not a falling man too far.
Shakespeare
6.
To straiten; to distress;
as, to be
pressed
with want or hunger
.
7.
To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.
Paul was
pressed
in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
Acts xviii. 5.
8.
To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or inculcate with earnestness or importunity; to enforce;
as, to
press
divine truth on an audience
.
He
pressed
a letter upon me within this hour.
Dryden.
Be sure to
press
upon him every motive.
Addison.
9.
To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard;
as, to
press
a horse in a race
.
The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and
pressed
on, by the king's commandment.
Esther viii. 14.
☞ Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting a slow or continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a sudden impulse of force.
Pressed brick
.
See under
Brick
.

Press

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with steady force.
2.
To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way with violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to crowd; to throng; to encroach.
They
pressed
upon him for to touch him.
Mark iii. 10.
3.
To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or compelling influence;
as, an argument
presses
upon the judgment
.

Press

,
Noun.
[F.
presse
. See 4th
Press
.]
1.
An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is taken; sometimes, the place or building containing a press or presses.
☞ Presses are differently constructed for various purposes in the arts, their specific uses being commonly designated;
as, a cotton
press
, a wine
press
, a cider
press
, a copying
press
, etc.
See
Drill press
.
2.
Specifically, a printing press.
3.
The art or business of printing and publishing; hence, printed publications, taken collectively, more especially newspapers or the persons employed in writing for them;
as, a free
press
is a blessing, a licentious
press
is a curse
.
4.
An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles;
as, a clothes
press
.
Shak.
5.
The act of pressing or thronging forward.
In their throng and
press
to that last hold.
Shakespeare
6.
Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency;
as, a
press
of engagements
.
7.
A multitude of individuals crowded together; [GREEK] crowd of single things; a throng.
They could not come nigh unto him for the
press
.
Mark ii. 4.
Cylinder press
,
a printing press in which the impression is produced by a revolving cylinder under which the form passes; also, one in which the form of type or plates is curved around a cylinder, instead of resting on a flat bed.
–
Hydrostatic press
.
See under
Hydrostatic
.
–
Liberty of the press
,
the free right of publishing books, pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or censorship, subject only to punishment for libelous, seditious, or morally pernicious matters.
–
Press bed
,
a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a press or closet.
Boswell.
–
Press of sail
,
(Naut.)
,
as much sail as the state of the wind will permit.

Webster 1828 Edition

Press

PRESS

,
Verb.
T.
[L.pressus.]
1.
To urge with force or weight; a word of extensive use, denoting the application of any power, physical or moral, to something that is to be moved or affected. We press the ground with the feet when we walk; we press the couch on which we repose; we press substances with the hands, fingers or arms; the smith presses iron with his vise; we are pressed with the weight of arguments or of cares, troubles and business.
2.
To squeeze; to crush; as, to press grapes. Gen.40.
3.
To drive with violence; to hurry; as, to press a horse in motion, or in a race.
4.
To urge; to enforce; to inculcate with earnestness; as, to press divine truth on an audience.
5.
To embrace closely; to hug.
Leucothoe shook
And press'd Palemon closer in her arms.
6.
To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.
7.
To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or with difficulties.
8.
To constrain; to compel; to urge by authority or necessity.
The posts that rode on mules and camels went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king's commandment. Esth.8.
9.
To urge; to impose by importunity.
He pressed a letter upon me, within this hour, to deliver to you.
10. To urge or solicit with earnestness or importunity. He pressed me to accept of his offer.
11. To urge; to constrain.
Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. Acts.18.
Wickedness pressed with conscience, forecasteth grievous things.
12. To squeeze for making smooth; as cloth or paper.
Press differs from drive and strike, in usually denoting a slow or continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a sudden impulse of force.

PRESS

,
Verb.
I.
To urge or strain in motion; to urge forward with force.
I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil.3.
Th' insulting victor presses on the more.
1.
To bear on with force; to encroach.
On superior powers
Were we to press, inferior might on ours.
2.
To bear on with force; to crowd; to throng.
Thronging crowds press on you as you pass.
3.
To approach unseasonably or importunately.
Nor press too near the throne.
4.
To urge with vehemence and importunity.
He pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in to him. Gen.19.
5.
To urge by influence or moral force.
When arguments press equally in matters indifferent, the safest method is to give up ourselves to neither.
6.
To push with force; as, to press against the door.

PRESS

, n.
1.
An instrument or machine by which any body is squeezed, crushed or forced into a more compact form; as a wine-press, cider-press or cheese-press.
2.
A machine for printing; a printing-press. Great improvements have been lately made in the construction of presses.
3.
The art or business of printing and publishing. A free press is a great blessing to a free people; a licentious press is a curse to society.
4.
A crowd; a throng; a multitude of individuals crowded together.
And when they could not come nigh to him for the press--Mark 2.
5.
The act of urging or pushing forward.
Which in their throng and press to the last hold,
Confound themselves.
6.
A wine-vat or cistern. Hag.2.
7.
A case of closet for the safe keeping of garments.
8.
Urgency; urgent demands of affairs; as a press of business.
9.
A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy; for impress.
Press of sail, in navigation, is as much sail as the state of the wind will permit.
Liberty of the press, in civil policy, is the free right of publishing books, pamphlets or papers without previous restraint; or the unrestrained right which every citizen enjoys of publishing his thoughts and opinions, subject only to punishment for publishing what is pernicious to morals or to the peace of the state.

Definition 2024

press

press

English

Noun

press ‎(countable and uncountable, plural presses)

  1. (countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.
    a flower press‎
  2. (countable) A printing machine.
    Stop the presses!‎
  3. (uncountable) A collective term for 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. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
  4. (countable) A publisher.
  5. (countable, chiefly 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, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      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, […].
  6. (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 […].
  7. (countable, wagering) 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.‎
  8. (countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.
    I would like some Concord press with my meal tonight.‎
  9. A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

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

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 with force or weight
  2. (transitive) to compress, squeeze
    to press fruit for the purpose of extracting the juice
  3. (transitive) to clasp, hold in an embrace; to hug
    She took her son, and press'd
    The illustrious infant to her fragrant breast (Dryden, Illiad, VI. 178.)
  4. (transitive) to reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth
    to press cloth with an iron
    to press a hat
  5. (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.
  6. (transitive) to drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction
    to press a crowd back
  7. (transitive, obsolete) to weigh upon, oppress, trouble
    He turns from us;
    Alas, he weeps too! Something presses him
    He would reveal, but dare not.-Sir, be comforted. (Fletcher, Pilgrim, I. 2.)
  8. (transitive) to force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly, impel
  9. To try to force (something upon someone); to urge or inculcate.
    to press the Bible on an audience
    • Dryden
      He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
    • Addison
      Be sure to press upon him every motive.
  10. (transitive) to hasten, urge onward
    to press a horse in a race
  11. (transitive) to urge, beseech, entreat
    God heard their prayers, wherein they earnestly pressed him for the honor of his great name. (Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 35)
  12. (transitive) to lay stress upon, emphasize
    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. (M. Arnold, Literature and Dogma, Pref.)
  13. (transitive, intransitive) to throng, crowd
  14. (transitive, obsolete) to print
  15. To force into service, particularly into naval service.
    • Dryden
      To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed.
Quotations
  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:press.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
to indicate that a story is being printed

See also

References

Anagrams

German

Verb

press

  1. Imperative singular of pressen.
  2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of pressen.

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

press

  1. imperative of presse

Spanish

Noun

press m ‎(plural press)

  1. press (exercise)

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

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

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

Related terms

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

Etymology

Middle English presse ‎(“throng, crowd, clothespress”), partially from Old English press ‎(“clothespress”), from Medieval Latin pressa, and partially 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”)).

Pronunciation

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

Similar Results