squeezed; squeezing
1
a
: to exert pressure especially on opposite sides of : compress
b
: to extract or emit under pressure
c
: to force or thrust by compression
2
a(1)
: to get by extortion
(2)
: to deprive by extortion
b
: to cause economic hardship to
c
: to reduce the amount of
squeezes profits
3
: to crowd into a limited area
4
: to gain or win by a narrow margin
5
: to force (another player) to discard in bridge so as to unguard a suit
6
: to score by means of a squeeze play
1
: to give way before pressure
2
: to exert pressure
also
: to practice extortion or oppression
3
: to force one's way
squeeze through a door
4
: to pass, win, or get by narrowly
1
a
: an act or instance of squeezing : compression
2
3
: a profit taken by a middleman on goods or transactions
4
: a financial pressure caused by narrowing margins or by shortages
5
: a forced discard in bridge
6
7
slang
: a romantic partner
she's my main squeeze
Synonyms
Examples of squeeze in a Sentence
Verb
He lightly squeezed her hand and smiled.
Gently squeeze the fruit to see if it's ripe.
Hold it securely but don't squeeze too hard.
He squeezed the juice from the orange.
Noun
Fifty guests will be a bit of a squeeze.
It'll be a tight squeeze, but we can all fit.
Recent Examples on the Web
Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Some just want to squeeze a quick workout into every day.
—Mark Jackson, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
The Ham & Eggers always are looking for new ways to squeeze unnecessary money out of our tube.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2024
Place squeezed potato mixture in a large clean bowl; repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture.
—Julia Levy, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024
At a time when many studios are squeezed for budget, a searchable index with AI can help expedite processes for editors by cutting down on time and costs.
—Dave Friend, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
City leaders hope the exchange, a comparative trickle in a stream of funds flowing through government home and infrastructure projects, will help ease the home affordability crisis squeezing many of the city’s residents.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
The Blues were pegged back in the second-half, though, after Chasity Grant squeezed a shot in from close range.
—Ben Church, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Cantera Negra Blood Orange Mimosa Ingredients: 1oz Cantera Negra Reposado Tequila
1oz Aperol
2oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice
Champagne or sparkling wine
Instructions:
Shake all ingredients (minus champagne) and strain into highball glass over ice.
—Emily Price, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
The Orange Splash is made with Hornitos Reposado, orange liqueur, orange juice, lemon-lime soda and a squeeze of lime and orange, and it’s served in a Giants souvenir baseball cup.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Instead, swap out salt for fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon juice, or spice blends.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
The flurry of time-off requests is putting a squeeze on staffing amid persistent worker shortages.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.
—Claire Ballentine, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
But the fact that MA enrollment growth continues in spite of this annual 2% rate cut squeeze has led opponents of Medicare Advantage to call for more aggressive measures.
—Avik Roy, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
These are just a few examples of the severe cash squeeze facing medical care providers — from large hospital networks to the smallest of clinics — in the aftermath of a cyberattack two weeks ago that paralyzed the largest U.S. billing and payment system in the country.
—Julie Creswell, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
The Giving Pies, a fixture in San Jose’s Willow Glen district, has become a small-business David going up against a corporate Goliath that now appears to have shifted gears into full mea culpa mode after the tech titan’s order cancellation that left the local merchant in a financial squeeze.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
Verb
As part of the intake stroke, a supercharger pulls and squeezes air into the engine to create that beastly whine.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024
Some just want to squeeze a quick workout into every day.
—Mark Jackson, Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
The Ham & Eggers always are looking for new ways to squeeze unnecessary money out of our tube.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2024
Place squeezed potato mixture in a large clean bowl; repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture.
—Julia Levy, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024
At a time when many studios are squeezed for budget, a searchable index with AI can help expedite processes for editors by cutting down on time and costs.
—Dave Friend, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
City leaders hope the exchange, a comparative trickle in a stream of funds flowing through government home and infrastructure projects, will help ease the home affordability crisis squeezing many of the city’s residents.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Mar. 2024
The Blues were pegged back in the second-half, though, after Chasity Grant squeezed a shot in from close range.
—Ben Church, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Cantera Negra Blood Orange Mimosa Ingredients: 1oz Cantera Negra Reposado Tequila
1oz Aperol
2oz freshly squeezed blood orange juice
Champagne or sparkling wine
Instructions:
Shake all ingredients (minus champagne) and strain into highball glass over ice.
—Emily Price, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
Their interactions produce gravitational waves—literally, stretches and squeezes of spacetime—which are detected by observatories like the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, which is at the heart of the latest research.
—Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 7 Apr. 2024
The Orange Splash is made with Hornitos Reposado, orange liqueur, orange juice, lemon-lime soda and a squeeze of lime and orange, and it’s served in a Giants souvenir baseball cup.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Instead, swap out salt for fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon juice, or spice blends.
—Cynthia Sass, Mph, Health, 24 Mar. 2024
The flurry of time-off requests is putting a squeeze on staffing amid persistent worker shortages.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2024
After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.
—Claire Ballentine, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024
But the fact that MA enrollment growth continues in spite of this annual 2% rate cut squeeze has led opponents of Medicare Advantage to call for more aggressive measures.
—Avik Roy, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024
These are just a few examples of the severe cash squeeze facing medical care providers — from large hospital networks to the smallest of clinics — in the aftermath of a cyberattack two weeks ago that paralyzed the largest U.S. billing and payment system in the country.
—Julie Creswell, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
The Giving Pies, a fixture in San Jose’s Willow Glen district, has become a small-business David going up against a corporate Goliath that now appears to have shifted gears into full mea culpa mode after the tech titan’s order cancellation that left the local merchant in a financial squeeze.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'squeeze.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near squeeze
Cite this Entry
“Squeeze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/squeeze. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
squeeze
1 of 2 verb
squeezed; squeezing
1
2
a
: to force (as by threats) money, goods, or services from
squeezed their tenants mercilessly
b
: to reduce the amount of
rising costs squeezed profits
3
: to gain or win by a narrow margin
squeezer
noun
squeeze
2 of 2 noun1
: an act or instance of squeezing
2
: financial pressure
put the squeeze on someone
3
slang
: a romantic partner
she's my main squeeze
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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