What does pressure mean?
Pressure is a word that moves easily between physical science and ordinary life. In physics, it describes the force exerted on a surface per unit area, as in air pressure, water pressure, or blood pressure. In everyday use, it refers to stressful demands, time limits, or circumstances that make a person or organization feel overloaded. It can also mean the deliberate application of influence: to pressure someone is to insist, persuade, or apply emotional pressure so that they act. These meanings are connected through the idea of force being applied, whether to a material, a person, or a decision. The word is common in both formal and informal contexts and appears in expressions such as “under pressure,” “peer pressure,” and “blood pressure.” Its figurative uses often carry a negative connotation, although pressure can also describe beneficial motivation or the exertion needed to achieve a result.
Force exerted on a surface or object per unit area; also, urgent demands, stressful circumstances, or persuasive or coercive influence.
"The weather warning put additional pressure on emergency crews."
The physical and figurative senses are fully standard in British and American English.
To use persistent persuasion, insistence, or other influence to prompt someone to act.
"Reporters pressured officials to release the documents."
Often suggests an unwanted or strongly persuasive demand; “pressure” can be transitive or used with “into” or “for.”
The plural is used for separate sources of pressure, stressful circumstances, or pressures exerted on a person or system.
"The business faced pressures from rising costs and weaker demand."
The same word describes both a physical force pressing on a surface and the invisible force of a deadline, expectation, or social demand weighing on a person.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of pressure
English pressure comes through Old French from Latin pressūra, a noun meaning “a pressing” or “pressure.” The Latin word is related to premere, “to press,” from which English also derives press and related words such as impress, depress, and compress. The physical sense developed alongside the figurative senses of oppression, urgency, and influence.
Related word forms
How pressure is actually used
In its physical sense, pressure is a measurable force per unit area and is distinct from total force. In figurative uses, it often suggests stress, urgency, or the exertion of social or emotional influence; “pressure” can be neutral or negative depending on context.