Press
Press , noun
(Zoology) An East Indian insectivore (Tupaia ferruginea). It is arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is soft, and varies from rusty red to maroon and to brownish black.
Press , transitive verb
[Corrupt. from prest ready money advanced, a loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering service. See Prest, n.]
To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.
To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed.
Press , noun
[For prest, confused with press.]
A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.
I have misused the king's press.
Press , transitive verb
[French presser, from Latin pressare to press, from premere, pressum, to press. Compare Print, v.]
1.
To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to crowd or compel by a gradual and continued exertion; to bear upon; to squeeze; to compress; as, we press the ground with the feet when we walk; we press the couch on which we repose; we press substances with the hands, fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd.
Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.
2.
To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of; to squeeze out, or express, from something.
From sweet kernels pressed,
She tempers dulcet creams.
And I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
3.
To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus, in order to compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press cotton bales, paper, etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to press clothes.
4.
To embrace closely; to hug.
Leucothoe shook at these alarms,
And pressed Palemon closer in her arms.
5.
To oppress; to bear hard upon.
Press not a falling man too far.
6.
To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or hunger.
7.
To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.
Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
8.
To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or inculcate with earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as, to press divine truth on an audience.
He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
Be sure to press upon him every motive.
9.
To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard; as, to press a horse in a race.
The posts... went cut, being hastened and pressed on, by the king's commandment.
Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting a slow or continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a sudden impulse of force.
Collocations (1)
Pressed brick , See under Brick.
Press , intransitive verb
1.
To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with steady force.
2.
To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way with violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to crowd; to throng; to encroach.
They pressed upon him for to touch him.
3.
To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the judgment.
Press , noun
[French presse. See 4th Press.]
1.
An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an impression of a body is taken; sometimes, the place or building containing a press or presses.
Presses are differently constructed for various purposes in the arts, their specific uses being commonly designated; as, a cotton press, a wine press, a cider press, a copying press, etc. See Drill press.
2.
Specifically, a printing press.
3.
The art or business of printing and publishing; hence, printed publications, taken collectively, more especially newspapers or the persons employed in writing for them; as, a free press is a blessing, a licentious press is a curse.
4.
An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a clothes press. — Shakespeare
5.
The act of pressing or thronging forward.
In their throng and press to that last hold.
6.
Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of engagements.
7.
A multitude of individuals crowded together; {not transcribed} crowd of single things; a throng.
They could not come nigh unto him for the press.
Collocations (5)
Cylinder press , a printing press in which the impression is produced by a revolving cylinder under which the form passes; also, one in which the form of type or plates is curved around a cylinder, instead of resting on a flat bed.
Hydrostatic press , See under Hydrostatic.
Liberty of the press , the free right of publishing books, pamphlets, or papers, without previous restraint or censorship, subject only to punishment for libelous, seditious, or morally pernicious matters.
Press bed , a bed that may be folded, and inclosed, in a press or closet. — Boswell
Press of sail (Nautical) , as much sail as the state of the wind will permit.