7. To exercise very powerful or irresistible influence upon or over; to
constrain; to force; to compel.
Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that
Jesus was Christ.
Acts xviii. 5.
8. 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.
He pressed a letter upon me within this hour.
Dryden.
Be sure to press upon him every motive.
Addison.
9. To drive with violence; to hurry; to urge on; to ply hard; as, to
press a horse in a race.
The posts . . . went cut, being hastened and pressed on, by the
king's commandment.
Esther viii. 14.
Press differs from drive and strike in usually denoting a slow or
continued application of force; whereas drive and strike denote a
sudden impulse of force.
Pressed brick. See under Brick.
Press, v. i. 1. To exert pressure; to bear heavily; to push, crowd, or
urge with steady force.
2. 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.
They pressed upon him for to touch him.
Mark iii. 10.
3. To urge with vehemence or importunity; to exert a strong or
compelling influence; as, an argument presses upon the judgment.
Press, n. [F. presse. See 4th Press.] 1. 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.
Presses are differently constructed for various purposes in the arts,
their specific uses being commonly designated; as, a cotton press, a
wine press, a cider press, a copying press, etc. See Drill press.