pressing

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparable

   So urgent or important that it needs to be dealt with right away.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a pressing matter, the problem is pressing.

   Patterns

   • a pressing need for something
   • pressing business

   The council has more pressing concerns than painting the town hall.

   I have a pressing appointment, so I can't stay for lunch.

   Housing remains the most pressing issue in the region.

2. 2nouncountable or uncountablespecialist

   A batch of records, or a single record, made by squeezing material in a mold, or the act of pressing something such as grapes or clothes.

   Grammar: Countable for a record or batch: a first pressing; uncountable for the activity.

   Patterns

   • a first pressing of something
   • a limited pressing

   The band released a limited pressing of five hundred copies.

   Collectors prize the original pressing of that album.

   The pressing of the olives takes place each November.

Word forms

Common combinations

pressing need

There is a pressing need for clean drinking water.

pressing issue

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time.

pressing concern

Safety was the pressing concern for the organizers.

pressing matter

I have a pressing matter to discuss with you.

pressing engagement

He left early because of a pressing engagement.

first pressing

This vinyl is a first pressing from 1975.

Synonyms and how they differ

urgent

Urgent is the most direct match, but it often suggests a matter that is happening right now, while pressing may also suggest a continuing problem.

critical

Critical is stronger and suggests that failure to act will cause serious damage.

important

Important says the matter matters, but not that it cannot wait, so it is much weaker than pressing.

compelling

Compelling describes something that strongly persuades or attracts, not something that needs action immediately.

Opposites

Word family

press verb

to push firmly or to urge strongly

pressure noun

force or strong influence to act

pressingly adverb

in an urgent manner, rarely used

pressed adjective

short of something, as in pressed for time

Commonly confused: pressing or depressing?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pressing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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