from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Press \Press\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pressed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Pressing}.] [F. presser, fr. L. pressare to press, fr.
premere, pressum, to press. Cf. {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.
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Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.
--Luke vi. 38.
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2. To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of;
to squeeze out, or express, from something.
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From sweet kernels pressed,
She tempers dulcet creams. --Milton.
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And I took the grapes, and pressed them into
Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's
hand. --Gen. xl. 11.
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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.
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4. To embrace closely; to hug.
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Leucothoe shook at these alarms,
And pressed Palemon closer in her arms. --Pope.
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5. To oppress; to bear hard upon.
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Press not a falling man too far. --Shak.
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6. To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or
hunger.
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7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon
or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.
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Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the
Jews that Jesus was Christ. --Acts xviii.
5.
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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.
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He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
--Dryden.
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Be sure to press upon him every motive. --Addison.
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9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard;
as, to press a horse in a race.
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The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed
on, by the king's commandment. --Esther viii.
14.
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Note: 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.
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{Pressed brick}. See under {Brick}.
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