depressed; depressing; depresses
2
a
: to press down
depress a typewriter key
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
3
: to lessen the activity or strength of
drugs that may depress the appetite
4
: sadden, discourage
don't let the news depress you
5
: to decrease the market value or marketability of
Synonyms
Examples of depress in a Sentence
The news seemed to depress him a little.
I don't mean to depress you, but there's no way we can win.
We were all depressed by the loss.
You shouldn't let this kind of problem depress you.
These changes could depress the economy.
Market conditions are likely to depress earnings in the next quarter.
depressing the price of a stock
Slowly depress the car's brake pedal.
Depress the “shift” key on your keyboard.
The doctor will depress your tongue and look at your throat.
Recent Examples on the Web
In Venice, for instance, the new charge hasn’t depressed visitor numbers just yet.
—
Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Europe, 18 June 2024
The auto industry was particularly hard-hit: A shortage of semiconductors depressed new car production, leaving dealers short of inventory.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
Growing evidence indicates that credit scores depressed by medical debt can threaten people’s access to housing and fuel homelessness.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 13 June 2024
Once attached, the metal or plastic part manipulates the gun's trigger bar, turning the weapon from a semiautomatic, which requires a pull of the trigger for each shot fired, into a fully automatic weapon in which numerous shots can be fired by depressing the trigger and holding it, experts said.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for depress 
Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Europe, 18 June 2024
The auto industry was particularly hard-hit: A shortage of semiconductors depressed new car production, leaving dealers short of inventory.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 15 June 2024
Growing evidence indicates that credit scores depressed by medical debt can threaten people’s access to housing and fuel homelessness.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 13 June 2024
Once attached, the metal or plastic part manipulates the gun's trigger bar, turning the weapon from a semiautomatic, which requires a pull of the trigger for each shot fired, into a fully automatic weapon in which numerous shots can be fired by depressing the trigger and holding it, experts said.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 12 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for depress
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'depress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near depress
Cite this Entry
“Depress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/depress. Accessed 30 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
depress
verb
de·press
di-ˈpres 
1
a
: to press down
b
: to cause to sink to a lower position
2
: to lessen the activity or strength of
3
: sadden, discourage
4
: to lessen in price or value : depreciate
depressingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
Medical Definition
depress
transitive verb
de·press
di-ˈpres
1
: to diminish the activity, strength, or yield of
able to depress irritability of the heart muscle by the use of such a drug as procaine
2
: to lower in spirit or mood
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