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Glite Dictionary
to squeeze for

to squeeze for

4 7.5
To pressure someone to give money or information when they do not want to
  • phrasal verb
  • /skwiːz fɔr/
  • NSFW
translation icon : presionar por
  • The manager decided to squeeze the team members for a few more hours of work to meet the deadline.
  • squeezed for information
  • squeezing suppliers for

I bring good, honest people in here and I squeeze them for the bad stuff.

Examples

  • Old Bill had bounced back pretty well, Rich noted, and figured he could squeeze his pal for a few more bills.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Israel fears the loss of the Holocaust atmospherics of its early days when it could send Diaspora Jews on a guilt trip in order to squeeze them for money and political support.

    Blog text (16)

  • I bring good, honest people in here and I squeeze them for the bad stuff.

    H3 Podcast

  • To squeeze World Jewry for funds and bodies, Israel has to maintain a tense state of life.

    Blog text (16)

  • You know, you've been trying to squeeze our company for years now, (and) it's not going to work.

    God's Country (2012)

  • There's nothing more American than trying to squeeze other motherfuckers for every last penny.

    Blog text (30)

  • What about the three hundred grand you squeezed from me for that goddam voter registration front of yours—that's just water under the bridge?

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The lawyer tried to squeeze her client for as much information as possible during the investigation.

  • They are planning to squeeze him for a donation to their charity event, even though he already gave last year.

Synonyms

to pressure
vsto squeeze for
149 4.2

To try to make someone do something

relies on stronger compulsion to extract money or information
to squeeze
vsto squeeze for
79 4.8

To force someone to do something or give you something

focuses on extracting money or information despite strong unwillingness

Antonyms

to donate
457 2.7

Give money, things, or time to help a charity

to give away
233 2.0

Hand something to someone without asking for money

How Coercive

blackmail
102 5.2
to extort
44 8.1
to squeeze for
  • NSFW
4 7.5
to press
285 3.9
to ask
941 2.7

Surface Forms

squeeze for infinitive
squeezed for past
squeezed for past participle
squeezing for present participle
squeezes for third person singular

Morphology

squeeze + for

The meaning is a direct metaphorical extension of 'squeeze' (apply pressure to obtain something) combined with 'for' indicating the thing sought, so a learner who knows both words can infer that it means to pressure someone to give money or information. This construction follows a productive verb+preposition logic found in many languages, making the sense immediately accessible to B1 learners.

Etymology

The verb squeeze for comes from the image of squeezing fruit to get juice: you press hard until the juice comes out. So when someone is squeezed for money or information, the picture is of pressing a person until something comes out, and it means 'to force someone to give something'.