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Definition of "depressor" [de•press•or]

  • Something that depresses or is used to depress. (noun)
  • An instrument used to depress a part: a tongue depressor. (noun)
  • Any of various muscles that serve to draw down a part of the body. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "depressor" in a sentence
  • "A doctor from India shoving a tongue depressor down my throat trying to acquire a sample, eventually giving up as my gag reflex was just too strong."
  • "In December 2003, when Saddam Hussein was pulled out of his spider hole, the U.S. military offered as evidence of his capture a photograph showing the bearded dictator with a tongue depressor in his mouth."
  • "It's a close-up of Ellen's face taped to a tongue depressor."