COMPRESSION

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does compression mean? 

• COMPRESSION (noun)
  The noun COMPRESSION has 4 senses:

1. an increase in the density of something

2. the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together

3. encoding information while reducing the bandwidth or bits required

4. applying pressure

  Familiarity information: COMPRESSION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMPRESSION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An increase in the density of something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

compaction; compression; concretion; densification

Hypernyms ("compression" is a kind of...):

concentration (increase in density)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

compression; condensation; contraction

Context example:

the contraction of a gas on cooling

Hypernyms ("compression" is a kind of...):

shrinkage; shrinking (process or result of becoming less or smaller)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "compression"):

coarctation; constriction (tight or narrow compression)

Derivation:

compress (squeeze or press together)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Encoding information while reducing the bandwidth or bits required

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("compression" is a kind of...):

encoding; encryption (the activity of converting data or information into code)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "compression"):

image compression (the compression of graphics for storage or transmission)

MPEG (a set of standards adopted by the moving pictures experts group for the compression of digital video and audio data or a file of data compressed according to those standards)

Antonym:

decompression (restoring compressed information to its normal form for use or display)

Derivation:

compress (make more compact by or as if by pressing)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Applying pressure

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

compressing; compression

Hypernyms ("compression" is a kind of...):

press; pressing; pressure (the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "compression"):

squeeze; squeezing (the act of gripping and pressing firmly)

condensation; condensing (the act of increasing the density of something)

compaction; crunch; crush (the act of crushing)

constriction (the action or process of compressing)

Antonym:

decompression (relieving pressure (especially bringing a compressed person gradually back to atmospheric pressure))

Derivation:

compress (squeeze or press together)

 Context examples 

It is characterized by distortion and compression of the ducts by proliferating stromal cells.

(Intracanalicular Fibroadenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Signs and symptoms include local and radicular pain, weakness and spinal cord compression.

(Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Canal Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A file compression format mostly used for color and greyscale photographs.

(JPEG, NCI Thesaurus)

Distortion of normal architecture, hepatocellular plates; compression of adjacent tissue, cellular atypism.

(Hepatocellular Adenoma of the Mouse, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

Dilation of the glandular unit with compression of the epithelium.

(Glandular Cystic Dilation of the Mouse Intestinal Tract, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

If you've had training, you can use chest compressions, clear the airway, and do rescue breathing.

(CPR, NIH)

A lossless data compression algorithm that uses a combination of the LZ77 algorithm and Huffman coding.

(Deflate Algorithm, NCI Thesaurus)

An ameloblastoma with prominent desmoplastic stroma that causes compression of the neoplastic epithelial islands.

(Desmoplastic Ameloblastoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Image encoded with a lossy compression transfer syntax.

(Lossy Compressed Image, NCI Thesaurus/DICOM)

Increased size, compression of adjacent tissue.

(Mouse Islet Cell Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)