depress
/dɪˈpɹɛs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.86 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To press down.
verb
To cause a depression or a decrease in parts of the economy.
verb
To bring down or humble; to abase (pride, etc.).
Example Sentences
- "Depress the upper lever to start the machine."
- "As to the fireman, the sight of him at work, swinging round with his shovelful of coal and at the same moment lightly depressing his right heel and so working the pedal which causes the steam-operated firedoors to open like magic in front of the shovel, was always a pleasure."
- "Winter depresses me."
- "Lower productivity will eventually depress wages."
- "Russia claims the proportion of the grain that went to the very poorest countries was less than 4%, but this ignores the fact that even if wealthier countries were buying the wheat, the extra supply was depressing the general price all countries were paying."
Etymology
From Middle English depressen, from Old French depresser, from Latin dēpressus, perfect participle of dēprimō (“to press down, to weigh down”), from dē- (“off, away, down, out”) + premō (“to press”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: depressen, depresser, dēpressus