Pressed

Pressed is the past tense and past participle of the verb press. The verb traces to Old French presser, from Latin premere "to press," with the sense of applying physical force or moving something by pressure.

In everyday use, pressed describes the act of applying pressure to something, such as pressing a hand against a wall or pressing ingredients to extract juice. It is also used for manufacturing processes that form materials by pressure, such as metal stamping, die pressing, or plastic molding.

As an adjective, pressed denotes something densely packed or compacted, as in "pressed metal" or "pressed powder." In food and cosmetics, it describes products made by compression, for example "cold-pressed" oils or "pressed powder" makeup.

Common idioms and phrases include "pressed for time," meaning urgently needing to manage within a limited schedule; "pressed into service," meaning compelled to act; and "to press charges," a legal term for formally accusing someone of a crime.

A related concept is pressing as a manufacturing process, including hot pressing, cold pressing, and powder pressing, used in metallurgy, ceramics, and electronics to shape or secure components. In botany, plant specimens are dried and preserved on sheets by pressing, a standard method in herbarium collections. In computing and user interfaces, a key or button is described as "pressed" when the user activates it.