Adjacent Words

Squeeze definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SQUEEZE, v.t.
1. To press between two bodies; to press closely; as, to squeeze an orange the fingers or with an instrument; to squeeze the hand in friendship.
2. To oppress with hardships, burdens and taxes; to harass; to crush.
In a civil war, people must expect to be squeezed with the burden.
3. To hug; to embrace closely.
4. To force between close bodies; to compel or cause to pass; as, to squeeze water through felt.
To squeeze out, to force out by pressure, as a liquid.
SQUEEZE, v.i.
1. To press; to urge ones way; to pass by pressing; as, to squeeze hard to get through a crowd.
2. To crowd.
To squeeze through, to pass through by pressing and urging forward.
SQUEEZE, n.
1. Pressure; compression between bodies.
2. A close hug or embrace.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the act of gripping and pressing firmly; "he gave her cheek a playful squeeze" [syn: squeeze, squeezing]
2: a state in which there is a short supply of cash to lend to businesses and consumers and interest rates are high [syn: credit crunch, liquidity crisis, squeeze]
3: a situation in which increased costs cannot be passed on to the customer; "increased expenses put a squeeze on profits"
4: (slang) a person's girlfriend or boyfriend; "she was his main squeeze"
5: a twisting squeeze; "gave the wet cloth a wring" [syn: squeeze, wring]
6: an aggressive attempt to compel acquiescence by the concentration or manipulation of power; "she laughed at this sexual power play and walked away" [syn: power play, squeeze play, squeeze]
7: a tight or amorous embrace; "come here and give me a big hug" [syn: hug, clinch, squeeze]
8: the act of forcing yourself (or being forced) into or through a restricted space; "getting through that small opening was a tight squeeze" v
1: to compress with violence, out of natural shape or condition; "crush an aluminum can"; "squeeze a lemon" [syn: squash, crush, squelch, mash, squeeze]
2: press firmly; "He squeezed my hand"
3: squeeze like a wedge into a tight space; "I squeezed myself into the corner" [syn: wedge, squeeze, force]
4: to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means :"She forced him to take a job in the city"; "He squeezed her for information" [syn: coerce, hale, squeeze, pressure, force]
5: obtain by coercion or intimidation; "They extorted money from the executive by threatening to reveal his past to the company boss"; "They squeezed money from the owner of the business by threatening him" [syn: extort, squeeze, rack, gouge, wring]
6: press or force; "Stuff money into an envelope"; "She thrust the letter into his hand" [syn: thrust, stuff, shove, squeeze]
7: squeeze tightly between the fingers; "He pinched her behind"; "She squeezed the bottle" [syn: pinch, squeeze, twinge, tweet, nip, twitch]
8: squeeze (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness; "Hug me, please"; "They embraced"; "He hugged her close to him" [syn: embrace, hug, bosom, squeeze]
9: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle" [syn: compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract, press]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (squeezed; squeezing) Etymology: alteration of obsolete English quease, from Middle English queysen, from Old English cwy?san; akin to Icelandic kveisa stomach cramps Date: circa 1601 transitive verb 1. a. to exert pressure especially on opposite sides of ; compress b. to extract or emit under pressure c. to force or thrust by compression 2. a. (1) to get by extortion (2) to deprive by extortion b. to cause economic hardship to c. to reduce the amount of <squeezes profits> 3. to crowd into a limited area 4. to gain or win by a narrow margin 5. to force (another player) to discard in bridge so as to unguard a suit 6. to score by means of a squeeze play intransitive verb 1. to give way before pressure 2. to exert pressure; also to practice extortion or oppression 3. to force one's way <squeeze through a door> 4. to pass, win, or get by narrowly • squeezability noun • squeezable adjective • squeezer noun II. noun Date: 1611 1. a. an act or instance of squeezing ; compression b. handclasp; also embrace 2. a. a quantity squeezed out from something <a squeeze of lemon> b. a group crowded together ; crowd 3. a profit taken by a middleman on goods or transactions 4. a financial pressure caused by narrowing margins or by shortages 5. a forced discard in bridge 6. squeeze play 7. slang a romantic partner <she's my main squeeze>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. a exert pressure on from opposite or all sides, esp. in order to extract moisture or reduce size. b compress with one's hand or between two bodies. c reduce the size of or alter the shape of by squeezing. 2 tr. (often foll. by out) extract (moisture) by squeezing. 3 a tr. force (a person or thing) into or through a small or narrow space. b intr. make one's way by squeezing. c tr. make (one's way) by squeezing. 4 tr. a harass by exactions; extort money etc. from. b constrain; bring pressure to bear on. c (usu. foll. by out of) obtain (money etc.) by extortion, entreaty, etc. d Bridge subject (a player) to a squeeze. 5 tr. press (a person's hand) with one's own as a sign of sympathy, affection, etc. 6 tr. (often foll. by out) produce with effort (squeezed out a tear). --n. 1 an instance of squeezing; the state of being squeezed. 2 Brit. a close embrace. 3 a crowd or crowded state; a crush. 4 a small quantity produced by squeezing (a squeeze of lemon). 5 a sum of money extorted or exacted, esp. an illicit commission. 6 Econ. a restriction on borrowing, investment, etc., in a financial crisis. 7 an impression of a coin etc. taken by pressing damp paper, wax, etc., against it. 8 (in full squeeze play) a Bridge leading winning cards until an opponent is forced to discard an important card. b Baseball hitting a ball short to the infield to enable a runner on third base to start for home as soon as the ball is pitched. Phrases and idioms: put the squeeze on colloq. coerce or pressure (a person). squeeze bottle a flexible container whose contents are extracted by squeezing it. squeeze-box sl. an accordion or concertina. Derivatives: squeezable adj. squeezer n. Etymology: earlier squise, intensive of obs. queise, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Squeeze Squeeze, n. 1. (Mining) The gradual closing of workings by the weight of the overlying strata. 2. Pressure or constraint used to force the making of a gift, concession, or the like; exaction; extortion. [Colloq.] One of the many ``squeezes'' imposed by the mandarins. --A. R. Colquhoun.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Squeeze Squeeze, v. i. To press; to urge one's way, or to pass, by pressing; to crowd; -- often with through, into, etc.; as, to squeeze hard to get through a crowd.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Squeeze Squeeze, n. 1. The act of one who squeezes; compression between bodies; pressure. 2. A facsimile impression taken in some soft substance, as pulp, from an inscription on stone.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Squeeze Squeeze, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squeezed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squeezing.] [OE. queisen, AS. cw[=e]san, cw[=y]san, cw[=i]san, of uncertain origin. The s- was probably prefixed through the influence of squash, v.t.] 1. To press between two bodies; to press together closely; to compress; often, to compress so as to expel juice, moisture, etc.; as, to squeeze an orange with the fingers; to squeeze the hand in friendship. 2. Fig.: To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass; to crush. In a civil war, people must expect to be crushed and squeezed toward the burden. --L'Estrange. 3. To force, or cause to pass, by compression; often with out, through, etc.; as, to squeeze water through felt. Syn: To compress; hug; pinch; gripe; crowd.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(squeezes, squeezing, squeezed) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you squeeze something, you press it firmly, usually with your hands. He squeezed her arm reassuringly... Dip the bread briefly in water, then squeeze it dry. VERB: V n, V n adj • Squeeze is also a noun. I liked her way of reassuring you with a squeeze of the hand. N-COUNT: usu sing 2. If you squeeze a liquid or a soft substance out of an object, you get the liquid or substance out by pressing the object. Joe put the plug in the sink and squeezed some detergent over the dishes. ...freshly squeezed lemon juice. VERB: V n prep, V-ed 3. If you squeeze your eyes shut or if your eyes squeeze shut, you close them tightly, usually because you are frightened or to protect your eyes from something such as strong sunlight. Nancy squeezed her eyes shut and prayed... If you keep your eyes squeezed shut, you'll miss the show... VERB: V n adj, V adj 4. If you squeeze a person or thing somewhere or if they squeeze there, they manage to get through or into a small space. They lowered him gradually into the cockpit. Somehow they squeezed him in the tight space, and strapped him in... Many break-ins are carried out by youngsters who can squeeze through tiny windows. VERB: V n prep/adv, V prep/adv 5. If you say that getting a number of people into a small space is a squeeze, you mean that it is only just possible for them all to get into it. (INFORMAL) It was a squeeze in the car with five of them... = squash N-SING: a N 6. If you squeeze something out of someone, you persuade them to give it to you, although they may be unwilling to do this. The investigators complained about the difficulties of squeezing information out of residents... VERB: V n from/out of 7. If a government squeezes the economy, they put strict controls on people's ability to borrow money or on their own departments' freedom to spend money, in order to control the country's rate of inflation. The government will squeeze the economy into a severe recession to force inflation down... VERB: V n • Squeeze is also a noun. The CBI also says the squeeze is slowing down inflation. N-SING 8. Someone's squeeze is their boyfriend or girlfriend. (INFORMAL JOURNALISM) Jack showed off his latest squeeze at the weekend. N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Compress, gripe, pinch, nip, press closely. 2. Force (between close bodies), drive. 3. Harass, oppress, crush. II. v. n. Press, crowd, force a way, urge one's way.

Moby Thesaurus

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