Compressed

How to spell compressed

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce compressed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does compressed mean?

1. adjectiveSqueezed or packed into a smaller space, volume, or form than normal.
2. verbPressed or squeezed something into a smaller space, or shortened it into a briefer form.

Compressed in a sentence

• adjective

  The compressed air in the tank powered the spray gun.

• verb

  She compressed the long report into a single page of bullet points.

• adjective

  A compressed file downloads far faster over a slow connection.

• verb

  The engine compressed the fuel mixture before ignition.

Where does compressed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb comprimere, meaning 'to press together' or 'to squeeze', formed from the prefix com- 'together' and premere 'to press'. The past participle of comprimere was compressus, and it is from this form that English ultimately took the action of forcing something into a smaller space. The verb entered English through Old French in the late 1300s, originally used in medical and physical senses such as pressing on a wound. The same premere root sits inside a whole family of everyday relatives, including 'press', 'pressure', 'express' and 'depress', which is a useful reminder that the heart of the word is the single press. The doubled s belongs to that press core, while the prefix keeps just one m, and that mismatch is the small spelling trap worth noticing.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• press (to press, squeeze)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)