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Glite Dictionary
to press down on

to press down on

8 2.2
Push something down using your hand or weight
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : presionar
  • So those guys press down on the handles.
  • press down on the accelerator
  • press down on the pedal
  • press down on the plunger

The pressure of her weight pressing down on me was an excruciating pleasure.

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Examples

  • If you press down on the button, the machine will start working.

  • If I press down on the accelerator, it releases the gamma rays, and that increases the thrust.

    Flubber (1997)

  • Look, press down on the gas and let off real slow.

    Hell Riders (1984)

  • You can see how much it's pressing down on my hand here.

  • And then to open it up, you just press down on either side on these buttons and they kind of pop out.

  • With the other hand, I pressed down on the cake and watched it rise back up to shape.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Once you do that, you press down on the plunger.

    Pulp Fiction (1994)

  • Their mother pressed down on the horn of the Chevy and made it stick.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • You grip the slide firmly, press down on this slide stop, and pull back to examine the cylinder.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • I'm using little pieces of MDF with felt and siliconized mylar on the end to press down on the face of the painting.

Synonyms

to press down
vsto press down on
18 2.5

To push something down with force to make it flat or close it

does not necessarily aim to change shape or to seal objects
to push down
vsto press down on
16 2.0

Make something move down by using force

may involve weight or pressure without producing movement
to jam
vsto press down on
15 3.4

Push something quickly and hard into place

uses controlled downward pressure rather than sudden urgent force
to depress
vsto press down on
4 3.9

To press a button or key down

does not only apply to small mechanical parts and controls
to weigh down
vsto press down on
4 3.6

Make something heavier so it bends or sinks

uses downward pressure not necessarily by adding extra weight
to bear down on
vsto press down on
3 5.5

To press hard on something with great force

applies weight or pressure but usually less intense or strain-causing
to bear down
vsto press down on
2 7.0

Press hard on something or make it feel heavy

refers to physical downward force not general figurative burden
to tamp down
vsto press down on
1 5.3

Press something down firmly to make it more compact

is general downward action not specifically for compacting or stabilising
to ram down
vsto press down on
1 7.1

To force something down by hitting it hard

uses steady pressure rather than violent high impact strikes

Antonyms

lift
12 1.0

An act of raising something or a movement upward

How Hard

to slam down
  • Informal
14 6.0
to press down on
8 2.2
to push
∞ 1.0
to tap
174 1.0

Surface Forms

press down on infinitive
pressed down on past
pressed down on past participle
pressing down on present participle
presses down on third person singular

Morphology

press + down + on

The meaning 'to exert downward force against something' is directly and transparently built from 'press' (apply pressure) + 'down' (toward a lower position) + 'on' (against a surface); a B1 learner who knows those words can readily infer this action. This particle+preposition construction follows common compositional patterns in English (and similar logic exists in many languages), so it is immediately comprehensible without prior exposure.

Etymology

Press down on gives a simple picture: you put your hand or a tool on something and press it down toward the surface. That's why it means 'to push something down with pressure'.