Dictionary Definition

decompression

1 restoring compressed information to its normal form for use or display [ant: compression]

2 relieving pressure [syn: decompressing] [ant: compression]

User Contributed Dictionary

The restoration to atmospheric pressure of a person who has spent time under higher pressure (such as a diver)
The relief of pressure on a body part by surgery

Decompression has several meanings:

in physics: the release of pressure and is the opposition of physical compression
in medicine and aviation: decompression sickness
in non-surgical back pain treatment: herniated disc decompression (a form of treatment for the back, employed by chiropractors)
in surgery: a procedure used to treat spinal stenosis, carotid artery stenosis or any condition where a structure is being compressed
in scuba diving:
in festivals: a winding down decompression party
in accidents involving pressured vessels: explosive decompression
in computer science: the action of reversing data compression.
in comic book storytelling: decompression (comics) is the stylistic choice to tell a story mainly by visuals, with few words
in psychology, to relax or take time off work (take vacation) http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/decompression
The episode Decompression (The Outer Limits) of the American television fiction series "The Outer Limits"

decompression in French: Décompression

decompression in Italian: Decompressione

decompression in Polish: Dekompresja