Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or relating to pressures higher than normal, especially higher than atmospheric pressure.
- adjective Using aggressive, persistent persuasive tactics.
- adjective Full of or imposing great stress or tension.
- transitive verb To attempt to sell (something) or persuade (someone) by using aggressive, persistent tactics.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Noting an engine which exhausts at atmospheric pressure as distinguished from a condensing-engine; hence, non-condensing. This use of the term is confusing and inadvisable.
- Having a high rate of steam-pressure: as, a high-pressure engine. See
high pressure , under pressure.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having or involving a pressure greatly exceeding that of the atmosphere; -- said of steam, air, water, etc., and of steam, air, or hydraulic engines, water wheels, etc.
- adjective Fig.: Urgent; intense.
- adjective Using intense psychological pressure or other incentives to convince others to do things; aggressively persistent.
- adjective an engine in which steam at high pressure is used. It may be either a condensing or a noncondensing engine. Formerly the term was used only of the latter. See
Steam engine .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Operating with high
pressures , such as several timesatmospheric pressure but relative. - adjective
Tense ,stressful .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective aggressively and persistently persuasive
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word high-pressure.
Examples
-
The sharp drop occurred after workers activated an emergency cooling mechanism known as a high-pressure coolant-injection system, or HPCI, to prevent the overheating of the reactor core.
Utility Sees Possible Quake Role in Plant Damage Mitsuru Obe 2011
-
It also uses a process called high-pressure pasteurization to make the juice without heating it.
The Seattle Times 2011
-
This is business to business B2B sales, not one-call high-pressure sales.
-
After high-pressure games against rivals, for example: Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, Washington has, at times, lacked focus in the next contest.
Capitals hope to avoid emotional let-down against the Oilers 2011
-
The Post's Amy Shipley visited Miami Heat practice yesterday, after the team again failed to hit high-pressure, late-game shots, and players end up crying with "glossy eyes" in the locker room after losing to the Bulls on Sunday.
-
From that angle, spelling bees can be seen as evidence that Americans will stop at nothing to make a buck, even if that involves subjecting children to a high-pressure competition involving obscure words they will never again have the need to use and whose definitions most of them never learn.
A Conversation with Myla Goldberg about Wickett's Remedy 2010
-
Perhaps their hormonal drives will always make them more physically competitive and better suited to high-pressure, teleological pursuits.
-
Central University of Nationalities (in Beijing) Uighur associate professor Ilham pointed out that the 7.5 incident had been violently suppressed and Xinjiang is now under high-pressure policies now.
Global Voices in English » China: Are syringe attacks terrorism? 2009
-
The findings included overstated promises of potential salaries after graduation and high-pressure tactics that pressed applicants to enroll before receiving information about financial aid.
Investigators Accused Of 'Malpractice' In Report On For-Profit Colleges Chris Kirkham 2011
-
The findings included overstated promises of potential salaries after graduation and high-pressure tactics that pressed applicants to enroll before receiving information about financial aid.
Investigators Accused Of 'Malpractice' In Report On For-Profit Colleges Chris Kirkham 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.