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.
Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.
Luke vi. 38. 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.
Milton.
And I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.
Gen. xl. 11. 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.
Pope. 5. To oppress; to bear hard upon.
Press not a falling man too far.
Shak. 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.
Acts xviii. 5. 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.
Dryden.
Be sure to press upon him every motive.
Addison. 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.
Esther viii. 14. 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.
