Descriptive term for a variety of plays where you force an opponent to discard from a suit or suits that he wishes to guard. The result is that you make a trick (sometimes more) that seemed unlikely at the start of play.
There are a great many squeeze plays, many with set names, varying from the simple to the complex. Here are two basic ones:
You can make 6♣, 6♦ or 6♥ without problem but go for a top score by playing in 6NT. West leads the ♠K. You duck the first spade (see RECTIFYING THE COUNT) and win the continuation. You then cash the ♦A-K and play off your hearts to reach the position in 1b). The last heart catches East in a simple squeeze, obliging him to unguard one of his minor suits.
As South, you play in 7NT. West leads the ♣10. You have twelve top tricks and if either red suit breaks 3-3 then there will be no problem. You start by cashing two clubs and three top hearts. The heart suit fails to break kindly but you give yourself an extra chance by arriving in position 2b) where East has already discarded a club on a heart.
When dummy leads the ♣J, East must discard a spade to avoid conceding a trick immediately. You throw a diamond. When you now cash the ♦K-Q, West must discard a spade or a heart on the second diamond. Either is fatal and you have squeezed both opponents.