INDEX:
1. to push something firmly, especially with your fingers
2. to press something so that it becomes flatter or smaller
3. to press something to remove the liquid from it
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ PUSH
↑ SQUASH
◆◆◆
1. to push something firmly, especially with your fingers
▷ press /pres/ [intransitive/transitive verb]
to push something firmly with your fingers or with your feet. In American English push is usually used to describe what you do to buttons, bells etc :
▪ The doctor gently pressed her stomach.
▪ I pressed the brake pedal, but nothing happened.
press something down
▪ She stuffed the papers back in the box and pressed the lid down.
press a button/bell/key
British in order to make a machine work, a bell ring etc
▪ Which key do I press to delete it?
▪ To get coffee, put your money in the machine and press the green button.
▷ squeeze /skwiːz/ [transitive verb]
to push something firmly inwards by pressing on both sides of it, especially with your hands or fingers :
▪ I squeezed the toothpaste tube, but nothing came out.
▪ a horrible doll that cried when you squeezed it
squeeze something out of something
▪ I can’t squeeze any more tomato paste out of this tube.
squeeze somebody’s arm/hand
as a sign of love or friendship
▪ Alice squeezed my arm affectionately, and said goodbye.
▷ pinch /pɪntʃ/ [transitive verb]
to press someone’s skin tightly between your fingers and thumb, so that it hurts :
▪ Dad! Katy just pinched me!
▷ touch /tʌtʃ/ [transitive verb] especially American
to press a button, for example on a telephone or a computer screen, in order to make a choice, get information, or make something work - used especially in instructions :
▪ For room service, touch button 9.
▷ knead /niːd/ [transitive verb]
to press a soft substance such as clay or dough a mixture of flour and water used to make bread repeatedly with your hands :
▪ She kneaded the dough and shaped it into loaves.
▪ The clay should be kneaded thoroughly to remove any bubbles of air.
2. to press something so that it becomes flatter or smaller
▷ press /pres/ [transitive verb]
▪ We pressed the flowers between the pages of a book.
press something into something
press something to make it a different shape
▪ The cookie dough is then pressed into small shapes and baked in a hot oven.
▷ flatten /ˈflætn/ [transitive verb]
to press something into a flat shape :
▪ Place the balls of cookie dough on a baking sheet, and flatten each one with your hand.
▪ She said that the crash-helmet would flatten her hair-do.
▷ roll also roll out [transitive verb/transitive phrasal verb] /rəʊl, ˌrəʊl ˈaʊt/
to make something flat using a tool or machine shaped like a tube :
▪ Roll the pastry as thin as you can.
roll out something/roll something out
▪ Roll the dough out to a thickness of four centimetres.
▷ compress /kəmˈpres/ [transitive verb]
to press something together, so that it takes up less space - used especially in technical contexts :
▪ Behind the factory is a machine that compresses old cars into blocks of scrap metal.
compression /kəmˈpreʃ ə n/ [uncountable noun]
▪ The engine’s efficiency depends on the effective compression of gas in all its cylinders.
3. to press something to remove the liquid from it
▷ squeeze /skwiːz/ [transitive verb]
▪ Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into a jug.
▪ Alice squeezed the wet sponge.
freshly squeezed orange/lemon etc juice
juice that has been pressed from a fruit, and that has not had any chemicals, sugar etc added
▪ I start the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
▷ wring out /ˌrɪŋ ˈaʊt/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to press and twist wet cloth or wet clothes in order to remove water from them :
wring out something
▪ Would you wring out these towels and hang them up to dry?
wring something/it/them out
▪ I had to take off my skirt and wring it out when I got home.