squeeze
verbEtymology
From earlier squize, squise (whence also dialectal English squizzen and squeege), first attested around 1600, further origin uncertain; probably an alteration of quease (which is attested since 1550), from Middle English queisen (“to squeeze”), from Old English cwȳsan (“to crush, squeeze”), itself also of unknown origin, perhaps imitative (compare Swedish qväsa, kväsa (“to squeeze, bruise, crush; quell”), Dutch kwetsen (“to injure, hurt”), German quetschen (“to squeeze”)). Or, a blend of obsolete squiss (“to squeeze”) (whence also squash and squish) with quease. Compare also French esquicher from Old Occitan esquichar (“to press, squeeze”). The slang expression "to put the squeeze on (someone or something)", meaning "to exert influence", is from 1711. The baseball term "squeeze play" is first recorded 1905. "Main squeeze" ("most important person") is attested from 1896, the specific meaning "one's sweetheart, lover" is attested in 1970s. The nonstandard strong forms squoze and squozen, attested dialectally since at least the mid-19th century, are by analogy with freeze.
Definitions
To apply pressure to from two or more sides at once.
- I squeezed the ball between my hands.
- Please don't squeeze the toothpaste tube in the middle.
- "Over there—by the rock," Steele muttered, with his brush between his teeth, squeezing out raw sienna, and keeping his eyes fixed on Betty Flanders's back.
To embrace closely
To embrace closely; to give a tight hug to.
To fit into a tight place.
- I managed to squeeze the car into that parking space.
- Can you squeeze through that gap?
- I squeezed myself through the crowd.
›+ 18 more definitionsshow fewer
To remove something with difficulty, or apparent difficulty.
- He squeezed some money out of his wallet.
To put in a difficult position by presenting two or more choices.
- I'm being squeezed between my job and my volunteer work.
To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes
To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass.
- a Civil War where People must expect to be crush'd and squeez'd in the Consequence
- However he lost out, as other business interests whom he had alienated by his efforts to squeeze every penny of profit from the canal, supported the construction of the railway.
To attempt to score a runner from third by bunting.
- Jones squeezed in Smith with a perfect bunt.
An instance of squeezing.
- to give something a squeeze
A close or tight fit.
A difficult position.
- I'm in a tight squeeze right now when it comes to my free time.
- There is a growing recognition that, as the population ages and the squeeze on NHS resources continues, better ways of supporting older people outside hospital need to be developed.
A hug or other affectionate grasp.
- a gentle squeeze on the arm
A romantic partner.
- I want to be your main squeeze.
- “No, Mona. Her new squeeze is one of Wage's boys.”
- He spent nights cruising queer bars near the pad, saw Wiltsie at the dives, but always in the company of his squeeze, a guy he called 'Duane.'
An illicit alcoholic drink made by squeezing Sterno through cheesecloth, etc., and mixing…
An illicit alcoholic drink made by squeezing Sterno through cheesecloth, etc., and mixing the result with fruit juice.
The act of bunting in an attempt to score a runner from third.
- The game ended in exciting fashion with a failed squeeze.
A play that forces an opponent to discard a card that gives up one or more tricks.
A traversal of a narrow passage.
- It was a tight squeeze, but I got through to the next section of the cave.
- The most notorious squeezes have names: the Gun Barrel, Jam Crack, the Electric Armpit Crawl, Devil's Pinch.
A moulding, cast or other impression of an object, chiefly a design, inscription etc.,…
A moulding, cast or other impression of an object, chiefly a design, inscription etc., especially by pressing wet paper onto the surface and peeling off when dry.
The gradual closing of workings by the weight of the overlying strata.
The situation experienced by a middleman when pressured from both sides, especially…
The situation experienced by a middleman when pressured from both sides, especially financially.
- Thus was established a powerful Chinese combination, which maintained itself by submitting to a heavy "squeeze" at the hands of the Viceroy and Governor of Canton on the one hand and of the Hoppo on the other.
A bribe, fee, or extortionary price paid to a middleman, especially in China
A bribe, fee, or extortionary price paid to a middleman, especially in China; the practice of requiring such a bribe or fee.
- The mattress shop had been bought with the proceeds of squeeze obtained by him from a former American employer.
- They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect.
A person's neck.
- "Got his description putty close: Short black 'air, black whiskers, with a crips^([sic]) curl at the hedges; a white choker, tight round his squeeze; dressed in black, and orful hugly," remarked the policeman.
The neighborhood
Derived
exsqueeze me, nonsqueezing, oversqueezed, resqueeze, scrunch, scruze, squeezable, squeeze blood from a turnip, squeeze blood out of a turnip, squeeze box, squeezebox, squeezedness, squeeze-grape, squeeze in, squeeze into, squeeze off, squeeze one out, squeeze out, squeeze play, squeezer, squeeze stile, squeeze the pips, squeeze under, squeeze up, squeezingly, squeezy, squizzle, synchrosqueezed, unsqueeze, coastal squeeze, credit squeeze, juice is worth the squeeze, put the squeeze on, safety squeeze, short squeeze, squeeze ball, squeeze bore, squeeze-bore, squeeze boxer, squeeze chute · +6 more
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for squeeze. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA