spausti

Spausti is a Lithuanian verb meaning to apply pressure to an object by squeezing, pressing, or pushing. It covers literal actions such as pressing a button, squeezing a tube, or squeezing and holding something, as well as figurative uses like pressing someone to act or urging persistence. The action is typically transitive, taking a direct object in the sentence.

In Lithuanian, spausti has both imperfective and perfective forms. The imperfective aspect is used for ongoing or repeated pressing, while the perfective form paspausti denotes a completed pressing action, as in paspausti mygtuką (to press a button) or paspausti vožtuvą (to press a valve). The two forms are commonly encountered in everyday speech and writing, often with the related noun forms that express the result or act of pressing.

Related nouns and terms connected to the root spaud- include spaudimas (pressure, squeezing) and spauda (the press; printing industry; also the act of printing). The past participle spausta can appear in passive constructions meaning “pressed” or “being pressed,” and the term paspaudimas can be used for the moment of pressing or for pressure as a condition.

Etymology traces spausti to the Baltic root spaud-, linked to similar verbs in related languages such as Latvian spiest (to press). The family of words in Lithuanian also gives rise to terms associated with printing and press, reflecting the core idea of applying pressure to shape or produce something.