press-gang

• pressgang
• press gang

From press +‎ gang.

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press-gang (plural press-gangs)

2. A body of men employed to force others (impress them) into military service, especially naval service.

   Synonym: press (noun) (archaic)

   • 2021 March 14, HarryBlank, “Defence”, in SCP Foundation‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 December 2024:

     "If this is a press gang," Lyle remarked, "you should know that my diet is extremely poor, I'm too tall for trenches and I blow away in a light breeze."

• impressment

press-gang (third-person singular simple present press-gangs, present participle press-ganging, simple past and past participle press-ganged)

1. (transitive) To force (someone) into military or naval service.

   Synonym: shanghai

   Coordinate terms: conscript, draft

2. (transitive) To coerce (somebody) into doing something that they are reluctant to do.

   Coordinate term: railroad

• gang press