# squeeze

Pronunciation: say "SKWEEZ" /skwiːz/

## Verb

1. To press in on something from two or more sides at the same time, as when gripping it in a hand.
   - Simple: To press something hard from two or more sides at the same time.
   - _He squeezed the stress ball under his desk whenever the meeting ran long._
   - _Squeeze the lime over the tacos just before serving._
2. To fit into a tight or narrow place, often with some effort.
   - Simple: To fit into a small or tight space, often with effort.
   - _Commuters squeeze into the train car shoulder to shoulder during rush hour._
   - _She squeezed through the gap between the bookcase and the wall._
3. To embrace someone closely; to give a tight hug.
   - Simple: To hug someone in a close, tight way.
   - _She ran across the platform to squeeze her brother after his long deployment._
   - _He squeezed his daughter goodbye at the school gate every morning._
8. To get something out of a person or thing when doing so is difficult or seems difficult.
   - Simple: To get something out of a person or thing when it is hard to do.
   - _Detectives finally squeezed a confession out of the suspect after hours of questioning._
   - _The accountant managed to squeeze a few more dollars out of the travel budget._
9. To put someone in a hard position by forcing them to choose between two or more options.
   - Simple: To put someone in a hard position by leaving them only difficult choices.
   - _Lenders squeezed the company by demanding either immediate repayment or steep new fees._
   - _Rising rents squeeze young families into choosing between smaller apartments and longer commutes._
10. To make people's lives difficult through harassment or by imposing hardships, burdens, or taxes.
   - Simple: To make life hard for people with heavy taxes, unfair demands, or constant trouble.
   - _The empire squeezed its provinces for tribute until rebellion broke out._
   - _Corrupt officials continued to squeeze merchants with arbitrary fines and inspection fees._
15. In baseball, to attempt to score a runner from third base by bunting.
   - Simple: In baseball, to try to bring a runner home from third base by making a soft, short hit.
   - _With the infield playing back, the manager chose to squeeze the runner rather than wait for a hit._
   - _They squeezed the tying run home in the bottom of the eighth._

## Noun

4. A hug or other affectionate grasp, such as a press of the hand or shoulder.
   - Simple: A tight hug, or a friendly press of someone's hand or arm.
   - _She greeted each arriving guest with a warm squeeze at the door._
   - _A reassuring squeeze of his shoulder told him he wasn't alone._
5. A single act of applying pressure to something from two or more sides.
   - Simple: One act of pressing something from two or more sides.
   - _With a gentle squeeze, he tested whether the avocado was ripe._
   - _Each squeeze of the hand pump sent water spraying across the garden._
6. A close or tight fit, especially in a confined space.
   - Simple: A very tight fit in a small space.
   - _Parking downtown was a squeeze, with barely an inch of clearance on either side._
   - _The crawl space under the house was a tight squeeze even for the smallest technician._
7. A difficult position, especially one in which someone is under pressure from multiple sides.
   - Simple: A difficult situation where someone feels pressure from more than one side.
   - _Rising costs and falling sales put the company in a squeeze by midyear._
   - _Caught in a squeeze between his boss's demands and his family's needs, he finally quit._
11. A romantic partner; a boyfriend or girlfriend. *(slang)*
   - Simple: An informal word for a boyfriend, girlfriend, or other romantic partner.
   - _She showed up to the reunion with her latest squeeze on her arm._
   - _Everyone wants to meet your new squeeze, so bring him along on Friday._
12. The act of passing through a narrow opening, especially a constricted section of a cave passage.
   - Simple: A trip through a very narrow space, such as a tight gap in a cave.
   - _The guidebook warned that the squeeze near the entrance was impassable for larger cavers._
   - _Veteran cavers rate each squeeze by how much gear must be removed to get through._
13. A copy of an inscription, design, or other surface made by molding or casting, especially by pressing wet paper onto it and peeling it off when dry.
   - Simple: A copy of a design or writing made by pressing wet paper onto it and peeling the paper off when dry.
   - _Archaeologists took a paper squeeze of the inscription before the tomb was resealed._
   - _The library holds thousands of squeezes recording inscriptions that have since eroded away._
14. In baseball, an attempt to score a runner from third base by bunting.
   - Simple: In baseball, a soft hit made on purpose so the player on third base can run home and score.
   - _With one out in the ninth, the manager signaled for a squeeze._
   - _The pitcher read the squeeze and threw high and inside to spoil the bunt._
16. In card games such as bridge, a play that forces an opponent to discard a card, giving up one or more tricks.
   - Simple: In card games, a play that forces another player to throw away a card they need to win.
   - _Declarer executed a squeeze over the final three tricks to make the contract._
   - _Without the squeeze, the defenders would have held on to their winners._
19. In mining, the gradual closing of workings under the weight of the overlying strata.
   - Simple: The slow closing of tunnels in a mine as the heavy rock above presses down.
   - _Timber supports were replaced with steel after the squeeze crushed the original framing._
   - _Engineers monitored the squeeze in the deeper galleries with gauges set into the walls._
20. An illicit alcoholic drink made by straining the alcohol from Sterno or similar canned fuel through cheesecloth and mixing it with fruit juice. *(slang)*
   - Simple: An illegal drink made by taking the alcohol out of canned cooking fuel and adding fruit juice.
   - _The men in the rail camp passed around a jar of squeeze on cold nights._
   - _The mission warned newcomers that squeeze had put more than one man in the hospital._

## Noun

17. The situation of a middleman pressured from both sides at once, especially financially. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A situation where someone in the middle is pushed hard from both sides, often about money.
   - _Wholesalers complained of the squeeze as factories raised prices and retailers demanded discounts._
   - _The broker was caught in a squeeze, owing money to lenders while clients delayed their payments._
18. A bribe, fee, or extortionary price paid to a middleman, especially historically in China; also the practice of requiring it. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Extra money that a middleman unfairly demands before they will let a deal go through.
   - _Foreign traders in the treaty ports budgeted for the squeeze as a routine cost of doing business._
   - _His agent collected a squeeze on every transaction that passed through the warehouse._
21. The neck of a person. *(obsolete, UK)*
   - Simple: Someone's neck.
   - _He tied his kerchief loose about his squeeze and stepped out into the lane._
   - _One more job like that and the hangman will measure your squeeze, the old lag warned._

## Origin

First attested around 1600, from earlier "squize", "squise", with further origin uncertain. It is probably an alteration of "quease" (attested since 1550), from Middle English "queisen" and Old English "cwȳsan" ("to crush, squeeze"), itself of unknown origin and perhaps imitative (compare German "quetschen" and Dutch "kwetsen"). Alternatively, it may be a blend of the obsolete "squiss" with "quease".

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