1To wring out a towel, rag, or similar cloth to remove liquid — an everyday action, usually written 絞る in this sense.
濡れたタオルをよく絞ってから干してください。
Please wring out the wet towel well before hanging it to dry.
雑巾を絞ったら手が冷たくなった。
My hands got cold from wringing out the rag.
洗濯した服を軽く絞ってから洗濯機に入れた。
I wrung out the washed clothes lightly before putting them in the washing machine.
2To press or squeeze something (such as fruit) to extract juice; also used for milking an animal. Usually written 搾る in this sense.
レモンを搾ってサラダにかけた。
I squeezed a lemon and poured the juice over the salad.
朝、牧場で牛から乳を搾る体験をした。
In the morning I had the experience of milking a cow at the farm.
オレンジを搾ってフレッシュジュースを作った。
I squeezed oranges to make fresh juice.
3A figurative use meaning to rack one's brains (頭を絞る) or to strain one's voice with all one's strength (声を絞る).
いいアイデアを出すために皆で頭を絞った。
We all racked our brains to come up with a good idea.
彼女は声を絞って助けを求めたが、誰にも届かなかった。
She strained to call out for help, but no one heard her.
4To extort or exploit — to forcibly squeeze money or resources out of someone in a weaker position.
その業者は下請けから不当な料金を絞り取っていた。
That contractor had been extorting unfair fees from its subcontractors.
借金のある彼から無理に金を絞ろうとするのはやめなさい。
Stop trying to squeeze money out of him when he's already in debt.
5To scold severely — very often used in the passive form 絞られる to mean "to get chewed out."
ミスをした部下は上司にひどく絞られた。
The subordinate who made the mistake got severely chewed out by his boss.
遅刻した学生たちは先生に絞られた。
The students who were late got scolded by the teacher.
報告書のミスを見つけた課長に絞られてしまった。
The section chief found a mistake in the report and gave me an earful.
6To drill or train someone rigorously in order to build their skill or strength.
新人選手はコーチに絞られて毎朝走り込みをしている。
The rookie players are drilled hard by the coach and run every morning.
受験のために親に絞られて勉強し続けた。
Pushed hard by his parents ahead of the exam, he kept on studying.
7To narrow down options or a range of candidates — to whittle down choices.
応募者が多かったので面接候補を5人に絞った。
There were many applicants, so we narrowed the interview candidates down to five.
調査によって事故の原因をある程度絞ることができた。
The investigation allowed us to narrow down the cause of the accident to some extent.
予算に合わせて旅行先を二つに絞った。
I narrowed down the travel destinations to two, in line with the budget.
8To gather up and tighten the opening of a cloth or bag by pulling a drawstring — to cinch closed.
巾着の口を絞って中身がこぼれないようにした。
I cinched the pouch closed so the contents wouldn't spill out.
カーテンを軽く絞って隙間をふさいだ。
I gathered the curtains slightly to close the gap.
9To stop down a camera lens — to reduce the aperture and let in less light. A photography term.
背景まではっきり写したかったので、絞りを絞って撮影した。
I wanted the background to be in sharp focus too, so I stopped down the aperture.
10To turn down the volume of a radio, TV, or similar device.
隣の人に迷惑だから、ラジオの音を少し絞ってくれない？
It's bothering the neighbors — could you turn the radio down a bit?
会議中は音量を絞ってテレビをつけたままにした。
During the meeting we left the TV on but with the volume turned down.
11To draw a bow taut, readying it to release an arrow — a term used in archery.
彼は弓を絞り、静かに呼吸を整えてから矢を放った。
He drew the bow taut, calmly steadied his breathing, and released the arrow.
12In sumo, to constrict an opponent's arm or torso to immobilize them — a technical wrestling term.
力士は相手の腕を絞りにかかり、そのまま寄り切った。
The rikishi constricted his opponent's arm and forced him straight out of the ring.
13In the game of Go, a technique of squeezing an opponent's stones to capture them — usually written in kana as しぼる.
この一手で相手の石をしぼって取ることができた。
With this move, I was able to squeeze and capture the opponent's stones.