to press down
18
2.5
- phrasal verb
- /prɛs daʊn/
:
presionar hacia abajo
- To seal the box, press down on the lid until you hear a click.
- press down gently
- press down firmly
- press down hard
To knead the dough, press down with the palm of your hands.
- To knead the dough, press down with the palm of your hands.
- Great, so NVIDIA holds up, but eventually you get a lot more software competition that then continues to press down pricing.
Examples
-
There we go, just press down and you get access to a dust filter.
-
Flip over the second slide and press down to spread out the spacers.
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You can just press down and one of the things that I like to do is simply press down onto the skin.
-
Do you want something to press down on it with?
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Sign, uh, right here and press down hard.
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Look, press down on the gas and let off real slow.
-
All right, lock your fingers like this and press down hard right here.
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You can see as I press down, the juice is rising up.
-
Once you do that, you press down on the plunger.
-
I stared instead at his hands, which pressed down on the black Formica counter.
Fiction book (2001)
Synonyms
94
3.7
To press something so it takes less space
55
2.0
To press something hard so it becomes flat and loses its shape
23
2.6
Make something flat and smooth by pressing it
16
2.0
Make something move down by using force
15
3.4
Push something quickly and hard into place
14
7.0
To press or pack something down tightly
11
4.4
To press something so it becomes smaller and takes less space
8
2.2
Push something down using your hand or weight
4
3.9
To press a button or key down
3
5.5
To press hard on something with great force
1
5.3
Press something down firmly to make it more compact
1
7.1
To force something down by hitting it hard
Antonyms
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'press' (apply pressure) combined with the directional element 'down' yields 'apply force downward,' which matches the given definition. This verb + particle construction is common and predictable across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Press down comes from the simple act of pushing something with your hand or a tool so it moves lower. Think of using your palm to press a stamp or pushing a lid down; that's why it means 'to push with force to make something lower, flatter, or closed.'.