pressure

pressure is one of the 1000 most common headwords.

press - pressure - presume

Pronunciation

• enPR: prĕshʹ-ə(r), IPA ^(key): /ˈprɛʃə(r)/
• (UK) IPA ^(key): [ˈprɛʃ.ə(r)]
• (US) IPA ^(key): [ˈprɛʃ.ɚ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pres‧sure

Noun

Singular pressure

Plural pressures

1. In science, pressure is force applied over an area.

   It hurt when the doctor put pressure on her cut foot.

   He accidentally put too much air in his flat tire. The air put so much pressure on the tire that it exploded.

2. If a person is under pressure, they feel stressed.

   She has been under a lot of pressure lately because of her final exams. If she fails them, she will not graduate.

Verb

Plain form pressure

Third-person singular pressures

Past tense pressured

Past participle pressured

Present participle pressuring

1. When you pressure someone, you try to make them do something, especially something they do not want to do.

   Her friends tried to pressure her into smoking, even after Maya kept saying "no."

   His parents tried to pressure him into becoming a lawyer, but Jamal knew he wanted to be a doctor.

Related words

• pressurize/pressurise