(しぼ)

しぼる
godan verb
to wring, to squeeze; to narrow down
1. to wring, to squeeze
To twist something to extract liquid.
()れたタオルを(しぼ)る。
Wring out a wet towel.
雑巾(ぞうきん)をよく(しぼ)ってから(ゆか)()いた。
I wrung out the cloth well before wiping the floor.
レモンを(しぼ)って果汁(かじゅう)()す。
Squeeze a lemon to extract the juice.
2. to narrow down, to limit
To reduce options or focus on a specific target.
候補(こうほ)を3(にん)(しぼ)った。
I narrowed down the candidates to three people.
(まと)(しぼ)って準備(じゅんび)した(ほう)がいい。
It's better to narrow the focus and prepare.
テーマを(ひと)つに(しぼ)った。
I narrowed the topic down to one.
3. to squeeze out, to extract
To extract something through effort.
知恵(ちえ)(しぼ)って解決策(かいけつさく)(かんが)えた。
I racked my brains to think of a solution.
最後(さいご)(ちから)(しぼ)って(はし)()った。
I squeezed out my last bit of energy and finished the run.
やっとのことで(こえ)(しぼ)()した。
I barely managed to squeeze out my voice.

(しぼ)る means to wring, squeeze, or narrow down.

TRANSITIVITY:

  • Type: Transitive (他動詞(たどうし))
  • Pattern: Xを(しぼ)

COMMON EXPRESSIONS:

  • タオルを(しぼ)る (to wring a towel)
  • 雑巾(ぞうきん)(しぼ)る (to wring out a cloth)
  • 知恵(ちえ)(しぼ)る (to rack one's brains)
  • (こえ)(しぼ)る (to squeeze out one's voice)
  • (まと)(しぼ)る (to narrow the focus)
  • 候補(こうほ)(しぼ)る (to narrow down candidates)

RELATED VOCABULARY:

  • (しぼ)る (to squeeze out juice/milk - different kanji)
  • (しぼ)()む (to narrow down further)