compress

Compared meaning: to press something to make it smaller or tighter (verb).

比较义项：压紧、挤压使变小或变紧（动词）。

• compact

  Compact emphasizes pressing loose material—soil, snow, waste—into a firm, dense mass; it centers on solidity, not shrinking overall size, and is rarely used for gases, tubes, or feelings.

  compact 强调把松散的材料（如土壤、雪、垃圾）压实成紧密的一整块，重点在于变得结实，而非整体体积缩小，很少用于气体、管道或情绪。

  The construction crew used a roller to compact the gravel before paving the road.

  施工队用压路机把碎石压实，然后再铺路。

• compress 本词

  Compress emphasizes reducing size, volume, or duration by squeezing something into less space—files, gases, springs, schedules—often reversibly, and rarely describes narrowing a passage or living tissue.

  compress 强调通过挤压把体积、大小或时长压缩变小——如文件、气体、弹簧、日程安排——通常是可逆的，很少用来表示使通道或身体组织变窄。

  Modern software can compress a video file to a fraction of its original size.

  现代软件可以把视频文件压缩到原来大小的一小部分。

• constrict

  Constrict emphasizes narrowing a passage or opening—blood vessels, the throat, pupils—often causing tightness or restricted flow, and extends easily to fear or anxiety tightening the body.

  constrict 强调使管道或开口变窄——如血管、喉咽、瞳孔——常带来收紧或血流受限的感觉，也很容易引申为恐惧、焦虑等情绪使身体收紧。

  Cold weather can constrict blood vessels and reduce circulation to the fingers.

  寒冷的天气会使血管收缩，减少手指的血液循环。

Compact, compress, and constrict mean pressing something tighter, but objects differ. Compact presses material into a dense mass. Compress squeezes something into less space, like files. Constrict narrows a passage, like a blood vessel or the throat. This excludes compact meaning small (a compact car).

这三个词都表示通过施压使物体变紧、缩小或变窄，但施压对象和效果各有侧重：compact 强调把松散的材料压实成紧密的一整块，compress 强调把体积或空间压缩得更小，constrict 则强调使管道、咽喉等通道变窄或收紧，也可用于比喻恐惧等情绪对身体的影响。这里不比较 compact 作形容词表示“小巧的”（如 a compact car）的用法。