1. Exert pressure or force to or upon
   "He pressed down on the boards"; "press your thumb on this spot"
    
2. Force or impel in an indicated direction
   "I pressed him to finish his studies";
   - urge, urge on, exhort
    
3. Place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure
   "pressed flowers"
    
4. Bring together or compress
   "she pressed her lips";
   - compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract
    
5. Create by pressing
   "Press little holes into the soft clay"
    
6. Apply pressure and smooth with a heated iron
   "press your shirts";
   - iron, iron out
    
7. Make from plastic by moulding or to a shape or pattern
   "press a record"; "The factory pressed out thousands of plastic toys";
   - press out
    
8. Crowd closely
   "The crowds pressed along the street"
    
9. To be oppressive or burdensome
   "Something pressed on his mind";
   - weigh
    
10. Be urgent
    "This is a pressing problem"
     
11. Exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for
    "She is pressing for women's rights";
    - crusade, fight, campaign, push, agitate
     
12. Make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby
    "'Now press hard,' said the doctor to the woman";
    - push
     
13. Lift weights
    "This guy can press 300 pounds";
    - weight-lift, weightlift
     
14. Ask for or request earnestly
    "He pressed his friend for an answer";
    - bid, beseech, entreat, adjure, conjure [archaic]

1. The print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines
   "The public press covered the election extensively";
   - public press
    
2. A machine used for printing
   "Gutenberg's invention of the printing press revolutionized book production";
   - printing press
    
3. Any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids
   "The factory used a mechanical press to stamp out metal parts";
   - mechanical press
    
4. The act of pressing; the exertion of pressure
   "he gave the button a press";
   - pressure, pressing
    
5. A tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
   "The antique press held linens and clothing";
   - wardrobe, closet
    
6. Clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
   "He placed his tennis racket in the press to maintain its shape"
    
7. A weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead
   "The military press is an excellent exercise for building shoulder strength";
   - military press
    
8. A dense crowd of people
   "There was a press of people trying to enter the stadium";
   - crush, jam
    
9. The state of demanding notice or attention
   "the press of business matters";
   - imperativeness, insistence, insistency, pressure

Derived forms: pressing, pressed, presses

Type of: advertise, advertize [US, non-standard], advise, article of furniture, be, cast, clamp, clinch, counsel, count, create, crowd, exercise, exist, flack [N. Amer, informal], flatten, flatten out, force, furniture, machine, make, mass, matter, mold [N. Amer], mould [Brit, Cdn], pancake, piece of furniture, plead, print media, promote, push, pushing, rede [archaic], tighten, touch, urgency, weigh, weightlift, weightlifting, work out

Encyclopedia: Press, Joseph