PRESSURE


Meaning of PRESSURE in English

I. ˈpre-shər noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin pressura, from Latin, action of pressing, pressure, from pressus, past participle of premere

Date: 14th century

1.

a. : the burden of physical or mental distress

b. : the constraint of circumstance : the weight of social or economic imposition

2. : the application of force to something by something else in direct contact with it : compression

3. archaic : impression , stamp

4.

a. : the action of a force against an opposing force

b. : the force or thrust exerted over a surface divided by its area

c. : electromotive force

5. : the stress or urgency of matters demanding attention : exigency

people who work well under pressure

6. : the force of selection that results from one or more agents and tends to reduce a population of organisms

population pressure

predation pressure

7. : atmospheric pressure

8. : a sensation aroused by moderate compression of a body part or surface

• pres·sure·less adjective

II. transitive verb

( pres·sured ; pres·sur·ing ˈpre-sh(ə-)riŋ)

Date: 1938

1. : to apply pressure to

2. : pressurize

3. : to cook in a pressure cooker

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.