Pressure
Pressure (?; 138) , noun
[Old French, from Latin pressura, from premere. See 4th Press.]
1.
The act of pressing, or the condition of being pressed; compression; a squeezing; a crushing; as, a pressure of the hand.
2.
A contrasting force or impulse of any kind; as, the pressure of poverty; the pressure of taxes; the pressure of motives on the mind; the pressure of civilization.
Where the pressure of danger was not felt.
3.
Affliction; distress; grievance.
My people's pressures are grievous.
In the midst of his great troubles and pressures.
4.
Urgency; as, the pressure of business.
5.
Impression; stamp; character impressed.
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past.
6.
(Mechanics) The action of a force against some obstacle or opposing force; a force in the nature of a thrust, distributed over a surface, often estimated with reference to the amount upon a unit's area.
7.
Electro-motive force.
Collocations (4)
Atmospheric pressure or Center of pressure , See under Atmospheric, Center, etc.
Back pressure (Steam engine) , pressure which resists the motion of the piston, as the pressure of exhaust steam which does not find free outlet.
Fluid pressure , pressure like that exerted by a fluid. It is a thrust which is normal and equally intense in all directions around a point. — Rankine
Pressure gauge , a gauge for indicating fluid pressure; a manometer.