compression
the act of compressing: When performing CPR, give 30 chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
the state of being compressed, or the effect, result, or consequence of being compressed: Compression of the nerves can lead to tingling and numbness farther down the arm.
(in internal-combustion engines) the reduction in volume and increase of pressure of the air or combustible mixture in the cylinder prior to ignition, produced by the motion of the piston toward the cylinder head after intake.
Also called data compression .Computers. reduction of the storage space required for data by changing its format.
Computers. relating to the process of reducing the storage space required for data by changing its format: Experiments show that this approach can effectively improve the compression ratio of existing codes.
being or relating to a type of medical garment that provides pressure and support, reduces swelling, promotes circulation, holds tissue in place, etc.: Ask your doctor if compression stockings would help the swelling in your legs.After surgery, it may be necessary to wear a compression garment.Compression sleeves are an important part of lymphedema management.
Origin of compression
1- Rarely com·pres·sure [kuhm-presh-er] /kəmˈprɛʃ ər/ (for defs. 1, 2).
Other words from compression
- com·pres·sion·al, adjective
- non·com·pres·sion, noun
- o·ver·com·pres·sion, noun
- pre·com·pres·sion, noun
- su·per·com·pres·sion, noun
Words Nearby compression
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use compression in a sentence
They’re great options for people who are advised to wear compression socks all the time, as they can work with many shoe types and across seasons.
Compression socks to ease aches and support travel | PopSci Commerce Team | January 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceIn simulations and experiments, they saw the bio-inspired lattice withstand the most stress — first from compression in one direction, and then from opposing pressures at three points in another test — before breaking.
The Curious Strength of a Sea Sponge’s Glass Skeleton | Elena Renken | January 11, 2021 | Quanta MagazineWhen comparing each runner’s highest-deviation shoe to his or her lowest-deviating shoe, the high-deviating shoe produced significantly greater cartilage compression in the medial-tibial area of the knee joint.
There’s a New Way to Choose the Right Running Shoe | Alex Hutchinson | January 5, 2021 | Outside OnlineDon’t forget to also check on compression, caching, and, importantly, image file sizes.
Google Page Experience update is all set to launch in May 2021 – Webmasters, hang in there! | Aayush | January 4, 2021 | Search Engine WatchOne of the most promising so far, Silver said, is video compression, where there are many different ways to compress a video signal, but no clear rules about which one is best for different kinds of video.
DeepMind unveils new details of game-mastering A.I. it says may help in complex real-world environments | Jeremy Kahn | December 23, 2020 | Fortune
“Indeed, what had it gotten us, this violent compression of politics and celebrity and moral policing,” Bai writes.
How Gary Hart Became the First Political Sex Scandal Casualty | Lloyd Grove | October 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor example, bodies recovered from Air France Flight 447 that crashed into the south Atlantic revealed severe spinal compression.
MH17 Is the World’s First Open-Source Air Crash Investigation | Clive Irving | July 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAT T also sold another one of his projects, DjVu, an image compression technology which he thinks could have competed with PDF.
Soon All Your Best Facebook Friends Will Be Robots | William O’Connor | December 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTA short-story writer (his “The Evils of Spain” could be read along with this book), Pritchett was a master of compression.
Book Bag: Paul Theroux’s Favorite Inner-Journey Travel Books | Paul Theroux | May 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAllen Guelzo's new history of the civil war, Fateful Lightning, is a masterpiece of compression.
Should it fail, the fluid can generally be pumped out by alternate compression of the tube and the bulb.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThis compression will be vastly increased through the simultaneous opening of the eight circular speaking ports SP.
The Recent Revolution in Organ Building | George Laing MillerIn the experiment with the cylinder above described, the compression is due to mechanical energy, a force of another nature.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerThe concrete not only affords much of the strength to resist compression, but effectively protects the steel from corrosion.
For masonry, brick or concrete the arch subjected throughout to compression is the most natural form.
British Dictionary definitions for compression
/ (kəmˈprɛʃən) /
Also called: compressure (kəmˈprɛʃə) the act of compressing or the condition of being compressed
an increase in pressure of the charge in an engine or compressor obtained by reducing its volume
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for compression
[ kəm-prĕsh′ən ]
A force that tends to shorten or squeeze something, decreasing its volume.
The degree to which a substance has decreased in size (in volume, length, or some other dimension) after being or while being subject to stress. See also strain.
The re-encoding of data (usually the binary data used by computers) into a form that uses fewer bits of information than the original data. Compression is often used to speed the transmission of data such as text or visual images, or to minimize the memory resources needed to store such data.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for compression
See data compression.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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