[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/compress/)

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# compress

verb (compress, compresses, compressed, compressing); noun (a compress, compresses)

«compress» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To compress something is to press or squeeze it so it takes up less space. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#m1)
2. (computing) To compress a file is to make it smaller so it is quicker to send or store. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#m2)
3. To compress words or time is to make them shorter: «compress the story into one page». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#m3)
4. A compress is a pad of cloth, often cold or warm and wet, pressed on the body to ease pain or swelling. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science, gases can be compressed (air in a bike tyre or a spray can); springs compress when pushed. In first aid, a cold compress helps a bump or sprain. In computing, files are compressed into zip files. Phrases: «compressed air», «cold compress», «compress a file».

### Examples

- When you squash a sponge, you compress it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x1)
- The air in a bicycle pump is compressed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x2)
- Dad compressed the photos so he could email them. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x3)
- Put a cold compress on the bruise. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x4)
- The spring compresses when you press it and springs back. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x5)
- Gases can be compressed much more than liquids. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x6)
- We had to compress our story into 100 words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/#x7)

### Note

Stress differs: verb com-PRESS, noun COM-press. Noun of the action: «compression». In science: gases compress easily; liquids and solids hardly at all.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «compress» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compress/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«compress» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/compress.html) on Mova free.