Compresses

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Exerts force on something to make it smaller or more compact ; reduces the size of digital files or data by encoding them efficiently
2. Presses together firmly to decrease bulk or volume ; uses data algorithms to shrink file sizes for storage or transmission
3. Squeezes an object to compact it into a denser form ; applies techniques to lessen the space that files occupy on a device

Etymology: The verb "compresses" is simply the third-person singular form of "compress," so its story is really the story of the base verb. That verb arrived in English in Middle English, borrowed through Old French "compresser" from Late Latin "compressare," meaning "to press hard or together." The Late Latin word was built on the past participle "compressus" of the Latin verb "comprimere," which combines "com-" ("together") with "premere" ("to press"). In other words, to compress something is literally to press it together, a meaning the English word has kept almost unchanged for centuries.

Synonyms: squeezes, presses, contracts, condenses, shrinks

Antonyms: expands, enlarges, stretches, inflates, grows