verb To make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.
The force required to compress a spring varies linearly with the displacement.
verb To be pressed together or folded by compression into a more economic, easier format.
Our new model compresses easily, ideal for storage and travel
verb To condense into a more economic, easier format.
This chart compresses the entire audit report into a few lines on a single diagram.
verb To abridge.
If you try to compress the entire book into a three-sentence summary, you will lose a lot of information.
verb To make digital information smaller by encoding it using fewer bits.
verb To make a pulse or particle bunch shorter by applying dispersion to it.
verb To embrace sexually.
noun A multiply folded piece of cloth, a pouch of ice, etc., used to apply to a patient's skin, cover the dressing of wounds, and placed with the aid of a bandage to apply pressure on an injury.