the squeeze

noun

informal
: a situation that causes feelings of stress and pressure
We are really feeling the squeeze since I lost my job.
The government is putting the squeeze on tax evaders.

Examples of the squeeze in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With companies feeling the squeeze of high rates and weaker consumption, more workers were going unpaid, getting furloughed, or seeing their hours cut. Jason Ma, Fortune, 3 May 2026 With the rising cost of meat, the restaurant was stuck between passing along those costs to customers, or feeling the squeeze themselves. Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 2 May 2026 Ysmael is already feeling the squeeze of rising prices in Haiti. Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2026 There is some serious bust potential here, but at 127, the juice is worth the squeeze for a team that simply needs to get faster on offense. Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the squeeze

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The squeeze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20squeeze. Accessed 4 May. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster