Compress /(?)/

imp. & p. p. Compressed; p. pr & vb. n. Compressing

1. To press or squeeze together; to force into a narrower compass; to reduce the volume of by pressure; to compact; to condense; as, to compress air or water.

   Events of centuries . . . compressed within the compass of a single life.

   The same strength of expression, though more compressed, runs through his historical harangues.

2. To embrace sexually. [Obs.]
3. to reduce the space required for storage (of binary data) by an algorithm which converts the data to a smaller number of bits while preserving the information content. The compressed data is usually decompressed to recover the initial data format before subsequent use. (Computers)

1. A folded piece of cloth, pledget of lint, etc., used to cover the dressing of wounds, and so placed as, by the aid of a bandage, to make due pressure on any part. (Surg.)