See Also: press box(dictionary)
PRESS(law)
The Press(finance)
press(1)(dictionary)
press(2)(dictionary)
press(3)(dictionary)
press-up(dictionary)
Press(medicine)
press(4)(dictionary)
Associated Press (AP)(encyclopedia)

press(3) (iou)



press verb1. Pa. t. & pple pressed, (arch.) prest. ME.
[Old & mod. French presser from Latin pressare frequentative of press- pa. ppl stem of premere.]
I.
verb trans. Cause to move in some direction or into some position by pressure; push, drive, thrust. ME.
W. Dampier The Wind being on our broad side, prest her down very much. H. Roth He pressed his brow against the cold window pane. M. Flanagan He pressed into her hand a packet of birth-control pills.
b. verb intrans. In golf and other games: misdirect the ball through trying to hit too hard. E20.
verb trans. Act on (an object) with a continuous force directed towards the object by means of physical contact with it; exert a steady force on (a thing in contact); subject to pressure. LME.
Shelley Her step seemed to pity the grass it prest. G. Lord He pressed one of the triggers of his gun.
b. verb trans. Execute the punishment of peine forte et dure on (a person). Usu. in press to death. obsolete exc. Hist. M16.
c. verb trans. Caress or embrace by squeezing; hold affectionately against etc. E18.
Sir W. Scott The Minstrel's hand he kindly pressed. E. M. Forster He put his arm round her waist and pressed her against him.
d. verb intrans. Exert pressure; bear (down) with weight or force (up)on, against. E19.
D. Nobbs He pressed too hard..and it broke in his hands. Jeremy Cooper They pressed tightly together in the dark. fig.: C. Rayner Amy felt the weight of years of this family's history pressing down on her.
verb trans. Subject to pressure so as to alter the shape, consistency, bulk, etc., or to extract juice etc. from; compress, squeeze; spec. smooth (fabric or clothes) with an iron or a clothes press. LME.
E. Templeton The dress is on the bed, I've just pressed it. J. S. Foster Cold-formed steel sections are pressed or rolled to shape. Scientific American The small seeds of sesame are chiefly pressed for their oil.
b. Dry and flatten (a leaf, flower, etc.) in order to preserve it. L18.
c. Make a gramophone record or compact disc of (music); colloq. record (a song etc.). E20.
verb trans. Extract by pressure, express; squeeze (juice etc.) out of or from. LME.
Cook's Magazine Extra virgin is the highest quality, pressed from hand-picked fine olives.
verb trans. Print. Now rare. L16.
II.
verb intrans. & trans. Come up or gather closely round (a person or place); crowd, throng. ME.
T. Pynchon Trees press close: overhead you can see barely enough sky for the rocket's ascent. J. M. Coetzee The crowd..presses in so tight around them that I can hardly see.
verb intrans. Push or strain forward, as through a crowd or against obstacles; push one's way, advance forcefully; hasten onward. Freq. foll. by on. ME.
R. West She..pressed on with the delicate task. A. Tyler She pressed forward in her seat. J. Briggs The family pressed on to Rouen, their first port of call.
verb intrans. Thrust oneself or advance presumptuously or insistently; push oneself forward, intrude. arch. LME.
Swift You ne'er consider whom you shove, But rudely press before a duke.
verb intrans. Try hard, attempt to do something, usu. with eagerness or haste; aim at, strive after something. LME-E19.
verb intrans. Strive, contend. Long rare. LME.
III.
verb trans.
a. Of an attacking force etc.: bear heavily on, assail with much force; beset, harass. LME.
W. Robertson The castle of Milan was pressed more closely than ever. A. Duggan Our opponents, also well trained, still pressed us.
b. Of a tyrant, misfortune, etc.: oppress, crush, distress, afflict. LME-L18.
c. Weigh down, oppress, (the feelings, mind, spirits, etc.). arch. E17.
d. Put in difficulty, esp. by a lack. Now only in be pressed for, have barely enough of, be short of. L17.
G. A. Lawrence You can have money sooner, if you are much pressed for it.
a. verb trans. Constrain, compel, force. LME.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream Why should he stay whom love doth press to go?
b. verb intrans. Of time, danger, etc.: compel haste, be urgent, necessitate immediate action. LME.
Sir W. Scott Time presses: I must go.
c. verb trans. Impel to rapid movement, drive quickly. rare. E17.
d. verb trans. Hasten (a movement etc.), execute quickly. M18.
verb intrans. & trans. Ask earnestly, beg, implore; try hard to persuade, importune, urge. (Foll. by for, to do.) LME.
H. James The ponderous probity that kept him from pressing her for a reply. F. Raphael He sent Scrope and Hobhouse back and forth to press for details. Which? We are continuing to urge the Government to press the EEC to reform its policy.
verb trans. Insist on the doing of; solicit, request earnestly. (Foll. by (up)on a person.) LME.
J. Jortin Such a person might easily press the observance of a duty. Daily Telegraph The Brooklyn district attorney decided not to press charges against three adult children who had turned off their father's respirator.
verb trans. Insist on the belief, admission, or mental acceptance of; impress on the mind, emphasize, present earnestly; plead (a claim etc.) insistently. (Foll. by (up)on.) LME.
C. P. Snow The scientists..were pressing the case against using the bomb. R. L. Fox The Delphic oracle had long pressed Philip's cause.
verb intrans. Produce a strong mental or moral impression, bear heavily, have an influence. Foll. by (up)on. M16.
M. Edgeworth The reflection that he had wasted his time..pressed upon his mind. Day Lewis The adult world pressed only lightly upon me.
verb trans. Push forward or develop (an argument, view, consideration, etc.). L17.
G. Greene One must not press the comparison with Browning or Wilde too far.
verb trans. Insist that a person receive or accept; thrust on a person. L18.
S. Raven You shouldn't press details on people who don't ask for them.
Phrases: press flesh: see press the flesh below. press home (a) Mechanics press (a part) to achieve the maximum penetration or the desired fit in something; (b) continue with (a course of action) as far as possible; (c) make sure a person understands or appreciated (a matter). press one's luck: see LUCK noun. press the button: see BUTTON noun. press the flesh, press flesh colloq. (chiefly US) shake hands. press the panic button: see PANIC adjective & noun2. press the point insist on making a point, make sure a matter is understood or appreciated. press to death: see sense 2b above.
Comb.: press-board a small ironing-board for use on the lap while sewing; pressboard a material made of compressed paper laminations, used as a separator or insulator in electrical equipment; press-button noun & adjective = PUSH-BUTTON; press-fastener = press-stud below; press fit Mechanics an interference fit between two parts in which one is forced under pressure into a slightly smaller hole in the other; press-on adjective (of a material) that can be pressed or ironed on to something; press-stud a fastener used for joining parts of a garment etc., consisting of two components, one with a short shank which is pressed into a corresponding hollow in the other; press-up an exercise in which the body is raised from a prone position by straightening the arms while keeping the hands and feet on the ground and the legs and trunk straight.
pressable adjective1 (rare) M17.
presser noun a person who or thing which presses; (a worker who operates) a press;
presser-foot, the footplate of a sewing-machine which holds the material down over the feed: E16.