The difference between Compress and Lengthen

When used as verbs, compress means to make smaller, whereas lengthen means to make longer, to extend the length of.


Compress is also noun with the meaning: a multiply folded piece of cloth, a pouch of ice etc., used to apply to a patient's skin, cover the dressing of wounds, and placed with the aid of a bandage to apply pressure on an injury.

check bellow for the other definitions of Compress and Lengthen

  1. Compress as a verb (transitive):

    To make smaller; to press or squeeze together, or to make something occupy a smaller space or volume.

    Examples:

    "The force required to compress a spring varies linearly with the displacement."

  2. Compress as a verb (intransitive):

    To be pressed together or folded by compression into a more economic, easier format.

    Examples:

    "Our new model compresses easily, ideal for storage and travel"

  3. Compress as a verb (transitive):

    To condense into a more economic, easier format.

    Examples:

    "This chart compresses the entire audit report into a few lines on a single diagram."

  4. Compress as a verb (transitive):

    To abridge.

    Examples:

    "If you try to compress the entire book into a three-sentence summary, you will lose a lot of information."

  5. Compress as a verb (technology, transitive):

    To make digital information smaller by encoding it using fewer bits.

  6. Compress as a verb (obsolete):

    To embrace sexually.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Alexander Pope"

  1. Compress as a noun:

    A multiply folded piece of cloth, a pouch of ice etc., used to apply to a patient's skin, cover the dressing of wounds, and placed with the aid of a bandage to apply pressure on an injury.

    Examples:

    "He held a cold compress over the sprain."

  2. Compress as a noun:

    A machine for compressing

  1. Lengthen as a verb (transitive):

    To make longer, to extend the length of.

  2. Lengthen as a verb (intransitive):

    To become longer.

    Examples:

    "The shadows on the lawn lengthened as the sun began to set."