verb/apɾeˈtaɾ/
to squeeze; to tighten, constrict or compress; to press (e.g., a button); to pull (e.g., the trigger); to grit (e.g., one's teeth), to clench (e.g., one's fist)
“La cosa se está apretando.” — The situation is getting worse.
Synonyms: empezar, echar
Inherited from Late Latin appectorāre (undergoing metathesis in Old Spanish; compare similar occurrences in pretal, pretil, pretina), from Latin pectus (“chest”). Compare Portuguese apertar, Catalan apitrar.