squeeze
verb [ T ]
FINANCE, ECONOMICS uk/skwiːz/ usto reduce the amount of money that a person, company, or government can spend or earn:
Higher energy and utility bills are squeezing disposable incomes.
squeeze profits/budgets/margins
squeeze taxpayers/consumers/borrowers Rising food prices continue to squeeze consumers ever harder.
to reduce the number of things that are produced or sold:
squeeze supplies/exports European exports have been squeezed by the cheap dollar and equally cheap Chinese yuan.
Phrasal verbs
squeeze sb/sth out
squeeze sth out of/from sth/sb
squeeze
noun [ C, usually singular ]
FINANCE, ECONOMICS uk/skwiːz/ usa large reduction in the amount of money that a person, company, or government can spend or earn:
a budget/spending/cash squeeze Hard choices have to be made during a budget squeeze.
an economic/financial/monetary squeeze
a squeeze on sth A squeeze on earnings is expected to be highlighted in official labour market figures this week.
put a/the squeeze on sb/sth Competition from discount operations is putting the squeeze on mid-market chains.
a squeeze in margins/markets/profits A squeeze in the global credit market has forced the company to scrap plans to sell its US drinks division.
feel/face a squeeze A series of reports last week suggests that financial institutions will feel the squeeze on their balance sheets well into next year.
See also
credit squeeze
profit squeeze