Noun

Singular compression

Plural compressions

compression (plural compressions)

1. to increase in density; the act of compressing, or the state of being compressed; compaction
2. the cycle of an internal combustion engine during which the fuel and air mixture is compressed
3. (computing) the process by which data is compressed
4. (music) the electronic process by which any sound's gain is automatically controlled

Derived terms

• compression ratio
• compression wave
• data compression

Antonyms

• decompression
• rarefaction

Compression

Compression may refer to:

In physical science

• Physical compression, the result of the subjection of a material to compressive stress
• Compression member, a class of structural elements, of which a column is the most common specific example
• Compressibility, a measure of volume change resulting from pressure, the reciprocal of the bulk modulus
• Gas compression, raising the pressure and reducing the volume of gases
• Compression ratio, a figure of merit for an internal-combustion engine
• Compression (geology), a system of forces that tend to decrease the volume of or shorten rocks

In information science

• Data compression, the process of encoding digital information using fewer bits
• Audio compression (data), the compression of digital audio streams and files
• Bandwidth compression, a reduction in either the time to transmit or in the amount of bandwidth required to transmit
• Compression artifact, noticeable defects in audio or video that has been compressed
• Image compression, the application of data compression on digital images
• Video compression, the compression of digital video streams and files
• Dynamic range compression, a compression process that reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal
• One-way compression function, a cryptographic primitive

In engineering

• Gain compression, in electronic amplifiers, a reduction in differential or slope gain resulting from device non-linearity

In medicine

• Brain compression, a potentially fatal condition where pressure is exerted on the brain by internal bleeding
• Compression bandage, a bandage that uses compression to reduce the flow of blood

In mathematics

• Compression (functional analysis), the compression of a linear operator "T" on a Hilbert space to a subspace "K" is the operator

Other

• Compression (phonetics), running syllables together in informal speech
• Compression (zoology) when an animal, or part of an animal, is shorter or narrower compared with other animals in the same group; e.g. the body of a lizard may be "compressed" (flattened) so it can better fit into crevices under rocks