compress

compress — verb

1. to make something take up less physical room by applying pressure from different

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to make something take up less physical room by applying pressure from different sides — like pushing a pile of clothes into a suitcase or flattening a cardboard box before recycling it.

Example

Kian compressed the cardboard boxes before putting them in the recycling bin.

compress + object for disposal

The soil compresses under the weight of passing trucks and heavy rain.

intransitive: material compresses under force

Common collocations
  • compress tightly
  • compress firmly
  • compress under pressure
  • compress into [shape]
Synonyms
  • squeeze

    more informal, often involves hand pressure

  • crush

    implies breaking or damaging the object

  • compact

    suggests packing tightly; more formal or technical

  • condense

    also implies reduction but usually without physical force

Antonyms
  • expand

    to increase in size or volume

  • stretch

    to pull something to make it longer or wider

Grammar Patterns

compress + something + into + something

compress (no object)

Usage Note

Often followed by 'into' to specify the resulting shape or container. The intransitive use describes a material's natural property, as in 'the foam compresses easily.'

Common Mistakes

He compressed the button to call the elevator.
He pressed the button to call the elevator.
'Compress' means to squeeze into a smaller space, not to push a button.

2. to make a text, speech, or body of information shorter while keeping its main me

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to make a text, speech, or body of information shorter while keeping its main meaning — for example, fitting a long meeting summary into one paragraph, or cutting a ninety-minute lecture down to ten minutes of key points.

Example

The reporter compressed the two-hour interview into a three-minute news segment.

compress [lengthy material] into [shorter form]

Can you compress this report into one page so the manager can read it quickly?

Common collocations
  • compress into [pages/minutes]
  • compress to [word count]
  • compress a speech
  • compress an article
Synonyms
  • condense

    more common for both text and liquids; implies making denser

  • abridge

    formal, used specifically for written texts like books or articles

  • summarize

    focuses on extracting main points rather than fitting into less space

Antonyms
  • expand

    to add more detail or content

  • elaborate

    to explain in greater detail

  • lengthen

    to make longer in words or duration

Grammar Patterns

compress + something + into + something

Usage Note

Commonly followed by 'into' to show the shortened result. Unlike 'summarize,' which focuses on extracting key points, 'compress' emphasizes fitting the same content into a physically or temporally smaller space.

Common Mistakes

Please compress the paragraph.' (vague without context)
Please compress the paragraph into two sentences.
'Compress' usually needs 'into' to show what the content was reduced to.

3. to use a computer program to make a digital file smaller so that it uses less st

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to use a computer program to make a digital file smaller so that it uses less storage space or can be sent over the internet more quickly, without losing its basic content.

Example

Tamás compressed the video files before emailing them to the client.

You should compress large images before uploading them to your company website.

compress [images] before uploading

Common collocations
  • compress files
  • compress data
  • compress images
  • compress video
  • compress to [size]
Synonyms
  • zip

    informal, specifically refers to the .zip compression format

  • encode

    broader technical term that includes but is not limited to compression

Antonyms
  • decompress

    to restore a compressed file to its original size

  • extract

    to take files out of a compressed archive

Grammar Patterns

compress + something + to + size

Usage Note

Object is typically a digital file type such as an image, video, audio track, or document folder. Can be used with 'to' to specify the target file size. 'Zip' is a more informal alternative that refers specifically to the .zip format.

Common Mistakes

The virus compressed all my files.
The virus corrupted all my files.
'Compress' describes a deliberate action to reduce file size, not accidental damage or corruption of data.
I compressed my email to my boss.
I compressed the attachment before emailing it to my boss.
'Compress' applies to the file or attachment, not to the message itself.

compress — noun

Word family

  • compression
    nounB2
  • compressor
    nounB2
  • compressed
    adjectiveB2
  • compressible
    adjectiveC1
  • incompressible
    adjectiveC1
  • decompress
    verbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Compress' is the most neutral and general word for pressing something into a smaller space through force applied from multiple sides. 'Squeeze' is less formal and usually involves hand pressure or a confined space (e.g., squeezing a tube of toothpaste). 'Crush' implies enough force to break, deform, or destroy the object's original shape — a car can be crushed by a bulldozer, but you wouldn't crush a suitcase. 'Compact' suggests packing material tightly together to reduce volume, often in a technical or industrial context (e.g., compacting soil before laying a foundation). 'Condense' overlaps in the abstract sense but is unusual for physical objects — you condense a liquid by removing water, not by pressing. For everyday physical objects, 'compress' is the safest choice: compress the boxes, compress the clothes, compress the air.

compress ↗squeeze ↗crush ↗compact ↗condense

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinAnglo-FrenchEnglish

Compress comes from the Latin word 'compressus,' the past participle of 'comprimere,' which is formed from 'com-' (together) and 'primere' (to press). The verb entered English through Anglo-French in the late 1300s, originally referring only to the physical act of pressing together. By the early 1600s the medical noun sense — a cloth pad pressed against the body — had appeared in English. The meaning of reducing written text came later, and the computing sense of reducing file size emerged in the mid-1900s alongside the development of digital storage.