press

/ˈpres/

Middle English presse, from Anglo-French, from presser to press

noun

  1. a crowd or crowded condition : throng

  2. a thronging or crowding forward or together

  3. an apparatus or machine by which a substance is cut or shaped, an impression of a body is taken, a material is compressed, pressure is applied to a body, liquid is expressed, or a cutting tool is fed into the work by pressure

verb

  1. to act upon through steady pushing or thrusting force exerted in contact : squeeze

  2. assail, harass

  3. afflict, oppress

verb

  1. to force into service especially in an army or navy : impress

  2. to take by authority especially for public use : commandeer

  3. to take and force into any usually emergency service