squeeze

/skwiːz/
verb
  1. To press something firmly, especially from opposite sides.
    • The child squeezed the toy bear tightly in her arms.
    • She squeezed the lemon to get juice for the recipe.
    • He squeezed the tube of glue until a small drop came out.
  2. To force something into a tight or crowded space.
    • I squeezed the suitcase into the overhead compartment on the plane.
    • She squeezed one more book onto the already full shelf.
    • They managed to squeeze five people into the small car.
  3. To manage to do something when you have very little time.
    • We squeezed a short vacation into our busy schedule.
    • I can squeeze a quick workout into my lunch break.
    • He squeezed in a phone call between meetings.
  4. To put pressure on someone to do something, often to get money or information.
    • The detective squeezed the suspect for a confession.
    • The company tried to squeeze more work out of its employees without raising pay.
    • The landlord squeezed the tenants for higher rent every year.
noun
  1. An act of pressing something firmly.
    • He gave her hand a gentle squeeze to show he cared.
    • She gave the stress ball a hard squeeze.
    • A quick squeeze of the trigger fired the gun.
  2. A situation where there is not enough space or money.
    • The housing squeeze in the city makes it hard to find an affordable apartment.
    • Many families are facing a financial squeeze this year.
    • The company is feeling the squeeze from rising costs.
  3. A small amount of liquid obtained by pressing.
    • Add a squeeze of lemon to the tea for flavor.
    • A squeeze of lime makes the salsa taste fresh.
    • She put a squeeze of honey into her yogurt.