depressor

UK: /dɪˈprɛsə/ US: (di pres′ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•pres•sor  (di pres′ər), n. 

1. a person or thing that depresses.
2. Surgery an instrument for pressing down a protruding part, as a tongue depressor.
3. Anatomy
   • Anatomy a muscle that draws down a part of the body, as the corner of the mouth. Cf. levator.
   • Anatomy Also called depres′sor nerve′. a nerve that, when stimulated, induces a decrease in activity, as a slowed heartbeat.

• Late Latin, derivative of Latin dēprimere (see depress, -tor)
• 1605–15

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

depressor / dɪˈprɛsə/ noun

1. a person or thing that depresses
2. any muscle that draws down a part
3. an instrument used to press down or aside an organ or part: a tongue depressor