Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Press \Press\, v. i.
   1. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or
      urge with steady force.

   2. To move on with urging and crowding; to make one's way
      with violence or effort; to bear onward forcibly; to
      crowd; to throng; to encroach.

            They pressed upon him for to touch him. --Mark iii.
                                                  10.

   3. To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong
      or compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the
      judgment.

Press \Press\, n. [F. presse. See 4th {Press}.]
   1. An apparatus or machine by which any substance or body is
      pressed, squeezed, stamped, or shaped, or by which an
      impression of a body is taken; sometimes, the place or
      building containing a press or presses.

   Note: Presses are differently constructed for various
         purposes in the arts, their specific uses being
         commonly designated; as, a cotton press, a wine press,
         a cider press, a copying press, etc. See {Drill press}.

   2. Specifically, a printing press.

   3. The art or business of printing and publishing; hence,
      printed publications, taken collectively, more especially
      newspapers or the persons employed in writing for them;
      as, a free press is a blessing, a licentious press is a
      curse.

Press \Press\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pressed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Pressing}.] [F. presser, fr. L. pressare to press, fr.
   premere, pressum, to press. Cf. {Print}, v.]
   1. To urge, or act upon, with force, as weight; to act upon
      by pushing or thrusting, in distinction from pulling; to
      crowd or compel by a gradual and continued exertion; to
      bear upon; to squeeze; to compress; as, we press the
      ground with the feet when we walk; we press the couch on
      which we repose; we press substances with the hands,
      fingers, or arms; we are pressed in a crowd.

            Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together.
                                                  --Luke vi. 38.

   2. To squeeze, in order to extract the juice or contents of;
      to squeeze out, or express, from something.

            From sweet kernels pressed, She tempers dulcet
            creams.                               --Milton.

            And I took the grapes, and pressed them into
            Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's
            hand.                                 --Gen. xl. 11.

   3. To squeeze in or with suitable instruments or apparatus,
      in order to compact, make dense, or smooth; as, to press
      cotton bales, paper, etc.; to smooth by ironing; as, to
      press clothes.

   4. To embrace closely; to hug.

            Leucothoe shook at these alarms, And pressed Palemon
            closer in her arms.                   --Pope.

   5. To oppress; to bear hard upon.

            Press not a falling man too far.      --Shak.

   6. To straiten; to distress; as, to be pressed with want or
      hunger.

   7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon
      or over; to constrain; to force; to compel.

            Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the
            Jews that Jesus was Christ.           --Acts xviii.
                                                  5.

   8. To try to force (something upon some one); to urge or
      inculcate with earnestness or importunity; to enforce; as,
      to press divine truth on an audience.

            He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
                                                  --Dryden.

            Be sure to press upon him every motive. --Addison.

   9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard;
      as, to press a horse in a race.

            The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed
            on, by the king's commandment.        --Esther viii.
                                                  14.

   Note: Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting
         a slow or continued application of force; whereas drive
         and strike denote a sudden impulse of force.

   {Pressed brick}. See under {Brick}.

Press \Press\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
   An East Indian insectivore ({Tupaia ferruginea}). It is
   arboreal in its habits, and has a bushy tail. The fur is
   soft, and varies from rusty red to maroon and to brownish
   black.

Press \Press\, v. t. [Corrupt. fr. prest ready money advanced, a
   loan; hence, earnest money given soldiers on entering
   service. See {Prest}, n.]
   To force into service, particularly into naval service; to
   impress.

         To peaceful peasant to the wars is pressed. --Dryden.

Press \Press\, n. [For prest, confused with press.]
   A commission to force men into public service, particularly
   into the navy.

         I have misused the king's press.         --Shak.

   {Press gang}, or {Pressgang}, a detachment of seamen under
      the command of an officer empowered to force men into the
      naval service. See {Impress gang}, under {Impress}.

   {Press money}, money paid to a man enlisted into public
      service. See {Prest money}, under {Prest}, a.

Source : WordNet®

press
     n 1: newspaper writers and photographers [syn: {fourth estate}]
     2: the state of urgently demanding notice or attention; "the
        press of business matters" [syn: {imperativeness}, {insistence},
         {insistency}, {pressure}]
     3: the gathering and publishing of news in the form of
        newspapers or magazines [syn: {public press}]
     4: a machine used for printing [syn: {printing press}]
     5: a dense crowd of people [syn: {crush}, {jam}]
     6: a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for
        clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes
        [syn: {wardrobe}, {closet}]
     7: clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use
     8: any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut
        materials or extract liquids or compress solids [syn: {mechanical
        press}]
     9: a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder
        height and then smoothly lifted overhead [syn: {military
        press}]
     10: the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure; "he gave the
         button a press"; "he used pressure to stop the bleeding";
         "at the pressing of a button" [syn: {pressure}, {pressing}]

press
     v 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 urged him to
        finish his studies" [syn: {urge}, {urge on}, {exhort}]
     3: to be oppressive or burdensome; "weigh heavily on the mind",
        "Something pressed on his mind" [syn: {weigh}]
     4: place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure;
        "pressed flowers"
     5: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the
        spasm contracted the muscle" [syn: {compress}, {constrict},
         {squeeze}, {compact}, {contract}]
     6: crowd closely; "The crowds pressed along the street"
     7: create by pressing; "Press little holes into the soft clay"
     8: be urgent; "This is a pressing problem"
     9: 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; "The liberal party pushed for
        reforms"; "She is crusading for women's rights"; "The Dean
        is pushing for his favorite candidate" [syn: {crusade}, {fight},
         {campaign}, {push}, {agitate}]
     10: press from a plastic; "press a record" [syn: {press out}]
     11: make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the
         baby; "`Now push hard,' said the doctor to the woman"
         [syn: {push}]
     12: lift weights; "This guy can press 300 pounds" [syn: {weight-lift},
          {weightlift}]
     13: ask for or request earnestly; "The prophet bid all people to
         become good persons" [syn: {bid}, {beseech}, {entreat}, {adjure},
          {conjure}]