Compressor: meaning, definitions and examples

Used in mechanical and engineering contexts to describe a machine that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.

• The air compressor is essential for powering the pneumatic tools in our workshop

Used in a variety of situations to describe a device that moves fluids or gases by mechanical action. Commonly found in household, industrial, and agricultural settings.

• We had to replace the water pump in our well last year

Typically used in contexts involving maintaining the pressure of a fluid in a system, often found in chemical engineering or nuclear reactors.

• The pressurizer ensures that the reactor coolant system remains at a stable pressure

Commonly refers to a machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, used in various settings including home backup systems and industrial applications.

• During the power outage, the generator kept our lights and appliances running

General term for a device or software that reduces the size of data or objects. Could refer to various kinds of compressors, such as air compressors, used in machinery, or digital compressors used in software.

• The technician repaired the air compressor in the workshop.
• This audio compressor is perfect for stabilizing volumes in music production.

Specifically refers to software or algorithms that reduce the size of digital data to save space or to speed up data transmission.

• Using a data compressor can significantly reduce the size of your backups.
• The software comes with an efficient data compressor to manage large files.

A type of data compressor that focuses specifically on reducing the size of files. Commonly used to send large files over the internet or to save storage space.

• You should use a file compressor to zip these attachments before emailing them.
• The file compressor reduced the video size from 2 GB to just 500 MB.

Usually refers to software that bundles or packages files together, often compressing them in the process. Often used in software development to prepare applications for distribution.

• We used a packer to compile and compress all the project files.
• The packer made it easier to deploy the software with all its dependencies.