press the flesh

verb

To shake hands and socialize, especially in a political gathering.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbpress the flesh (third-person singular simple present presses the flesh, present participle pressing the flesh, simple past and past participle pressed the flesh)

present singular third person presses the flesh · participle present pressing the flesh · participle past pressed the flesh · past pressed the flesh

  1. idiomaticTo shake hands and socialize, especially in a political gathering.

    Bill Clinton was in full campaign form Tuesday. Hours behind schedule, he stopped to press the flesh with everyone in sight.

    2008 January 23, “The Clintons Double-Team Obama”, in Time
    1 more example

    I’ve followed candidates campaigning in the past, been to countless political-party and interest-group functions, and seen plenty of politicians press the flesh while I stand on the side with my notepad or sit at a rickety table with my laptop.

    2021, Eric Garcia, We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation, Boston: Mariner Books, →ISBN, page 28
Cite this entry
APA

press the flesh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20the%20flesh

MLA

“press the flesh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20the%20flesh. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “press the flesh,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/press%20the%20flesh.

Source: press the flesh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.