# press

Pronunciation: say "PRES" /pɹɛs/

## Noun

1. Newspapers and other news media, together with the journalists who work for them, taken as a group.
   - Simple: Newspapers and other news organizations, and the people who report the news for them.
   - _The press reported every detail of the trial._
   - _She refused to speak to the press after the verdict._
5. A machine or device that exerts pressure on whatever is placed in it.
   - Simple: A tool or machine that pushes hard on something.
   - _The bookbinder placed the pages under a press overnight._
   - _He used a press to squeeze the oil from the seeds._
6. A company or organization that publishes books, journals, or other printed works.
   - Simple: A company that prints and publishes books or other writing.
   - _An independent press picked up the manuscript no one else would touch._
   - _Academic presses rely on peer review before accepting a monograph._
7. A machine used to print text and images onto paper.
   - Simple: A machine that prints words and pictures onto paper.
   - _The newspaper installed a faster press last year._
   - _The old printing press could turn out a thousand pages an hour._
9. A weightlifting exercise in which a weight is forced away from the body by extending the arms or legs.
   - Simple: A workout move where you push a weight away from your body by straightening your arms or legs.
   - _She finished her set with a heavy overhead press._
   - _The leg press works the large muscles in your thighs._
10. A single act of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.
   - Simple: A single push or act of pushing on something.
   - _A firm press of the seal left a clear mark in the wax._
   - _With one press of his thumb, the lid clicked shut._
18. A thronging crowd of people gathered closely together.
   - Simple: A large crowd of people pushed close together.
   - _He elbowed his way through the press toward the harbor wall._
   - _In the press of the crowd she could barely lift her arms._
22. An enclosed storage space such as a closet or cupboard, often built into a wall.
   - Simple: A cupboard or closet built into a wall for storing things.
   - _The linens were folded neatly inside the hallway press._
   - _He found the spare blankets in a press beside the chimney._
14. The attention and opinion that news outlets give to a person or thing, often considered in terms of whether it is positive or negative.
   - Simple: What news reports say about someone or something, often thought of as good or bad.
   - _The senator's handling of the flood earned him rare positive press._
   - _Despite months of negative press over its data practices, the app kept gaining users._

## Verb

2. To push a button, key, or switch in order to operate a machine or device.
   - Simple: To push a button or key so that a machine or device does something.
   - _Press the power button to wake the screen._
   - _He pressed each key firmly so the input would register._
3. To push steadily and firmly against something, or to move it in a particular direction by pushing.
   - Simple: To push hard and steadily on something, or move it by pushing.
   - _Press firmly on the lever to engage the brake._
   - _Floodwater pressed against the dam throughout the night._
4. To compress or squeeze something.
   - Simple: To squeeze something tightly together.
   - _Press the dough firmly to force out the air bubbles._
   - _The machine presses grapes to extract their juice._
8. To make something flat or smooth by applying pressure, for example with a heavy weight or a hot iron, or to shape it in this way.
   - Simple: To make something flat or smooth by pushing on it, for example ironing clothes or flattening flowers.
   - _Press the dough into a thin, even layer._
   - _The factory presses steel into smooth panels._
11. To emphasize a point, argument, or demand by urging it strongly and insistently.
   - Simple: To keep urging a point or idea because you think it really matters.
   - _The senator pressed her demand for an immediate vote on the bill._
   - _Critics press the argument that the new policy harms small businesses._
12. To urge or try hard to persuade someone to do or agree to something, or to push strongly for a particular result.
   - Simple: To keep asking or pushing someone strongly to do something or agree to something.
   - _She pressed the doctor to come at once, fearing for her sick child._
   - _Petitioners press the governor to grant a pardon._
15. To try to force something on someone, often something they may not want.
   - Simple: To keep offering something to someone who may not want it.
   - _They press free samples on everyone who walks by._
   - _He pressed a large tip on the reluctant waiter._
16. To urge a person or animal onward; to drive forward with haste.
   - Simple: To push someone or something to move faster or keep going.
   - _The captain pressed his men through the night to reach the pass._
   - _Drovers press the cattle hard whenever a storm threatens._
17. To crowd or throng closely together in a dense mass.
   - Simple: To push close together in a big group.
   - _The mourners pressed around the gate to catch a glimpse of the casket._
   - _Commuters press onto the platform every morning at rush hour._
19. To hold or clasp a person tightly in an embrace.
   - Simple: To hold or clasp someone closely against your body.
   - _He pressed her close as they said their goodbyes at the station._
   - _Reunited soldiers press their families to them on the platform._
20. To force a person into military service, especially into the navy, against their will.
   - Simple: To force someone to join the army or navy against their will.
   - _The gang pressed three fishermen as they came ashore at dusk._
   - _Officers could press merchant seamen whenever the fleet was short of hands._
13. To weigh upon, burden, or trouble a person, especially in mind or spirit.
   - Simple: To worry or weigh heavily on someone's mind.
   - _A nameless dread pressed the traveler as the road grew dark._
   - _Grief may press a widow's heart long after the mourners have gone home._

## Noun

21. An official commission or warrant authorizing the forcing of men into public service, especially the navy. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An order that lets officials force men to join the navy.

## Verb

23. To produce printed copies of text or images by means of a printing press. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make printed copies of a book, paper, or picture.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Pure, unfermented grape juice, as obtained before fermentation begins.
- (noun) An additional wager in a golf match that duplicates an existing, usually losing, bet in value but starts even from the moment it is made.
- (noun) In personology, any feature of the environment that arouses a need in a person.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 5–7, 9–10, 14, 18, 21–22** — From Middle English 'presse' (throng, crowd, clothespress), partly from Old English 'press' (clothespress, from Medieval Latin 'pressa') and partly from Old French 'presse', from 'presser' (to press), from Latin 'pressāre', from 'pressus', the past participle of 'premere' (to press). It displaced the native Middle English 'thring' (crowd, throng).
**Meanings 2–4, 8, 11–13, 15–17, 19–20, 23** — The verb goes back to Latin premere ("to press"), whose past participle pressus gave Latin pressāre. That became Old French presser ("to press") and then Middle English pressen ("to crowd, press"), which pushed out native Middle English words such as thringen ("to press, crowd") and thrasten ("to press, force, urge").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/press (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).