This is the 16659th most frequent Russian word.
сжать
To compress, squeeze, or tighten.
Here, 'сжал' is used in the sense of 'to grip or squeeze something tightly'.
Он сжал ручку так, что она сломалась.
He gripped the pen so tightly that it broke.
Here, 'сжать' is used in the sense of 'to compress or condense something'.
Она пыталась сжать документы в архив.
She tried to compress the documents into an archive.
Here, 'сжал' is used in the sense of 'to press or bring something together'.