compression

[kuh m-presh-uh n] /kəmˈprɛʃ ən/

noun

the state of being compressed.

the effect, result, or consequence of being compressed.

(in internal-combustion engines) the reduction in volume and increase of pressure of the air or combustible mixture in the cylinder prior to ignition, produced by the motion of the piston toward the cylinder head after intake.

Also called data compression. reduction of the storage space required for data by changing its format.

Also, compressure

[kuh m-presh-er] /kəmˈprɛʃ ər/ (Show IPA), (for defs 1, 2).

Origin

1350-1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin compressiōn- (stem of compressiō), equivalent to compress(us) past participle of comprimere to press together (see com-, press¹) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

compressional, adjective

noncompression, noun

overcompression, noun

precompression, noun

supercompression, noun

Examples from the web for compression

In my case, my salary only bumped a small amount due to issues of salary compression within the department during that discussion.
But you could use diesel-style compression ignition with a conventional petrol engine.
It is getting hot because you pump fast and the heat generated at compression cannot escape.
Overall, areas around noisy compression stations had one third fewer birds than quiet sites.
Before computers, this experimental section helped engineers model the effects of compression on the finished bridge's cables.
Detecting the areas of compression is easier with the top than for the tights.
In addition, compression fractures are often responsible for loss of height.
But the compression of the application process poses challenges to counselors.
No one is sure what effect this compression will have.
Second, every broadcast medium is moving to a digital format, and digital means data compression.

British Dictionary definitions for compression

compression

/kəmˈprɛʃən/

noun

Also called compressure (kəmˈprɛʃə). the act of compressing or the condition of being compressed

an increase in pressure of the charge in an engine or compressor obtained by reducing its volume

Word Origin and History for compression

c.1400, from Middle French compression (14c.), from Latin compressionem (nominative compressio) "a pressing together," noun of action from past participle stem of comprimere (see compress (v.)). Related: Compressional. Compressional wave is attested from 1887.

compression in Medicine

compression com·pres·sion (kəm-prěsh'ən)
n.

See condensation.
The state of being compressed.

compression in Science

compression

(kəm-prěsh'ən)

A force that tends to shorten or squeeze something, decreasing its volume.
The degree to which a substance has decreased in size (in volume, length, or some other dimension) after being or while being subject to stress. See also strain.
The re-encoding of data (usually the binary data used by computers) into a form that uses fewer bits of information than the original data. Compression is often used to speed the transmission of data such as text or visual images, or to minimize the memory resources needed to store such data.

compression in Culture

compression definition

See data compression.

compression in Technology

1. (Or "compaction") The coding of data to save storage space or transmission time. Although data is already coded in digital form for computer processing, it can often be coded more efficiently (using fewer bits). For example, run-length encoding replaces strings of repeated characters (or other units of data) with a single character and a count. There are many compression algorithms and utilities. Compressed data must be decompressed before it can be used.
The standard Unix compression utilty is called compress though GNU's superior gzip has largely replaced it. Other compression utilties include pack, zip and PKZIP.
When compressing several similar files, it is usually better to join the files together into an archive of some kind (using tar for example) and then compress them, rather than to join together individually compressed files. This is because some common compression algorithms build up tables based on the data from their current input which they have already compressed. They then use this table to compress subsequent data more efficiently.
See also TIFF, JPEG, MPEG, Lempel-Ziv Welch, "lossy", "lossless".
Compression FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/compression-faq/).
Web Content Compression FAQ (https://perl.apache.org/docs/tutorials/client/compression/compression.html).
Usenet newsgroups: news:comp.compression, news:comp.compression.research.
2. Reducing the dynamic range of an audio signal, making quiet sounds louder and loud sounds quieter. Thus, when discussing digital audio, the preferred term for reducing the total amount of data is "compaction". Some advocate this term in all contexts.
(2004-04-26)