Dictionary definition(s) for: compression

• v., The (re)coding of digital data to save storage space or transmission time.
  See Also:

  • lossless compression
  • lossy compression
• v., Removal from a file or data stream of information that may be redundant either in the sense of information theory, or in the sense that the retention of precision, definition, or some similar measure of quality is less important than the necessity to abbreviate the data. In the former sense, the abbreviation is lossless, while in the latter sense it is lossy. Compression permits either or both kinds, and so its effects are not always exactly reversible.
  [ Computer and Information Sciences - Dictionary of Computing ]
  Dictionary of Computing. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.