Press vs. Depress — What's the Difference?

In printing and publishing, to produce books, newspapers, or other printed materials.

In economics, to reduce the level of economic activity.

To create or shape by applying pressure.

To press something downwards, especially a button or lever.

To exert force against an object to move, secure, or compress it.

To lower in amount, degree, or intensity.

To insist or urge someone to do something.

To reduce the level of land or a surface.

To reduce into a flatter or more compact form by applying weight or pressure.

To cause to feel sad or dejected.

To exert steady weight or force against

To cause to be sad or dejected.

To move by applying pressure

To cause to drop or sink; lower

To squeeze or clasp in fondness or concern

To press down

To squeeze the juice or other contents from

To lessen the activity or force of; weaken

To extract (juice, for example) by squeezing or compressing.

To lower prices in (a financial market).

To reshape or make compact by applying steady force; compress

To press down.

To iron (clothing, for example).

To make depressed, sad or bored.

To make (a sound recording), originally by pressing (a vinyl phonograph record) under pressure in a mold.

(economics) To cause a depression or a decrease in parts of the economy.

To bear down on or attack

To bring down or humble; to abase (pride, etc.).

To carry on or advance vigorously (an attack, for instance).

(math) To reduce (an equation) in a lower degree.

To place in trying or distressing circumstances

To press down; to cause to sink; to let fall; to lower; as, to depress the muzzle of a gun; to depress the eyes.

To insist upon or put forward insistently

To bring down or humble; to abase, as pride.

To try to influence or persuade, as by insistent arguments; pressure or entreat

To cast a gloom upon; to sadden; as, his spirits were depressed.

To insist that someone accept (something). Often used with on or upon

To lessen the activity of; to make dull; embarrass, as trade, commerce, etc.

(Sports) To lift (a weight) to a position above the head without moving the legs.

To lessen in price; to cause to decline in value; to cheapen; to depreciate.

To exert force or pressure

To reduce (an equation) in a lower degree.

To be worrisome or depressing; weigh heavily

Having the middle lower than the border; concave.

To advance eagerly; move forward urgently

Lower someone's spirits; make downhearted;

To assemble closely and in large numbers; crowd

Lower (prices or markets);

To continue a course of action, especially in spite of difficulties

Cause to drop or sink;

To require haste or urgent action

Press down;

To employ urgent persuasion or entreaty

Lessen the activity or force of;

To iron clothes or other material.

(Sports) To raise or lift a weight in a press.

(Basketball) To employ a press.

(Sports) In golf, to try to hit long or risky shots, typically with unsuccessful results.

To force into service in the army or navy; impress.

To take arbitrarily or by force, especially for public use.

To use in a manner different from the usual or intended, especially in an emergency.

Any of various machines or devices that apply pressure

A printing press.

A place or establishment where matter is printed

A publishing company

The communications media considered as a whole, especially the agencies that collect, publish, transmit, or broadcast news and other information to the public

News or other information disseminated to the public in printed, broadcast, or electronic form

The people involved in the media, as news reporters and broadcasters

The kind or extent of coverage a person or event receives in the media

A large gathering; a crowd

The act of gathering in large numbers or of pushing forward

An act of pressing down or applying pressure

The haste or urgency of business or matters

The set of proper creases in a garment or fabric, formed by ironing.

Chiefly Scots and Irish An upright closet or case used for storing clothing, books, or other articles.

(Sports) A lift in weightlifting in which the weight is raised to shoulder level and then steadily pushed straight overhead without movement of the legs.

(Basketball) An aggressive defense tactic in which players guard opponents closely, often over the entire court.

Conscription or impressment into service, especially into the army or navy.

(Obsolete) An official warrant for impressing men into military service.

An instance of applying pressure; an instance of pressing.

(countable) A device used to apply pressure to an item.

(countable) A printing machine.

The print-based media (both the people and the newspapers).

(countable) A publisher.

An enclosed storage space (e.g. closet, cupboard).

An exercise in which weight is forced away from the body by extension of the arms or legs.

An additional bet in a golf match that duplicates an existing (usually losing) wager in value, but begins even at the time of the bet.

(countable) Pure, unfermented grape juice.

A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.

(obsolete) A crowd.

(psychology) In personology, any environmental factor that arouses a need in the individual.

(ambitransitive) To exert weight or force against, to act upon with force or weight; to exert pressure upon.

To activate a button or key by exerting a downward or forward force on it, and then releasing it.

(transitive) To compress, squeeze.

(transitive) To clasp, hold in an embrace.

(transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure, especially flatten or smooth.

To flatten a selected area of fabric using an iron with an up-and-down, not sliding, motion, so as to avoid disturbing adjacent areas.

(transitive) To drive or thrust by pressure, to force in a certain direction.

To weigh upon, oppress, trouble.

(transitive) To force to a certain end or result; to urge strongly.

To try to force (something upon someone).

(transitive) To hasten, urge onward.

(transitive) To urge, beseech, entreat.

(transitive) To lay stress upon.

(ambitransitive) To throng, crowd.

To print.

To force into service, particularly into naval service.

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.

A commission to force men into public service, particularly into the navy.

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.

Specifically, a printing press.

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.

An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a clothes press.

The act of pressing or thronging forward.

Urgent demands of business or affairs; urgency; as, a press of engagements.

A multitude of individuals crowded together; crowd of single things; a throng.

To force into service, particularly into naval service; to impress.

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.

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

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.

To embrace closely; to hug.

To oppress; to bear hard upon.

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

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

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.

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

To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or urge with steady force.

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.

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

Newspaper writers and photographers

The state of urgently demanding notice or attention;

The gathering and publishing of news in the form of newspapers or magazines

A machine used for printing

A dense crowd of people

A tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes

Clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use

Any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids

A weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead

The act of pressing; the exertion of pressure;

Exert pressure or force to or upon;

Force or impel in an indicated direction;

To be oppressive or burdensome;

Place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure;

Squeeze or press together;

Crowd closely;

Create by pressing;

Be urgent;

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;

Press from a plastic;

Make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby;

Lift weights;

Ask for or request earnestly;

No, pressing can also be metaphorical, such as pressing an issue or pressing for time, indicating urgency or insistence.

Yes, depress can also mean to lower something in a figurative sense, like mood or economic conditions, beyond its physical action of pressing down.

Both can refer to the act of pushing a button or lever, though depress emphasizes the downward motion.

In journalism, press refers to the news media or the act of printing and publishing news materials.

Yes, depress is used in economics to describe a reduction in economic activity or downturns.

Pressing something involves applying force or pressure against it, which can be for moving, securing, shaping, or operating a device.

Examples include keyboards, pedals (like a car's clutch), and buttons on electronic devices.

No, while depress can mean to cause sadness, it primarily refers to the action of pressing down or reducing something in level or intensity in other contexts.

Depress specifically refers to pressing something downwards, often to operate a mechanism, while press has a broader meaning involving applying pressure in any direction.

Yes, pressing can also involve squeezing or compressing without necessarily moving an object from its place.

Pressing an issue means to insist on it being addressed or considered, often urgently or persistently.

In many contexts, they can be, but depress more specifically implies a downward push, which can be crucial in technical or precise descriptions.

Pressing clothes involves using an iron to apply heat and pressure to remove wrinkles and creases, making them look neat and smooth.

Yes, press can describe creating or shaping items, especially in manufacturing, such as pressing metal parts or pressing a book.

Functionally, they can be the same, but depressing specifically highlights the downward action involved in pressing a button.