Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: depresser, from Latin premere 'to press'

depress

 verb
     
de‧press [transitive]
1 to make someone feel very unhappy:
The thought of taking the exam again depressed him.
It depresses me that nobody seems to care.
2 to prevent an economy from being as active and successful as it usually is:
Several factors combined to depress the American economy.
3 formal to press something down, especially a part of a machine:
Depress the clutch fully.
4 formal to reduce the value of prices or wages:
High interest rates may depress share prices.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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