Which of the following properties refers to a material's ability to withstand compressive forces?

The property that best refers to a material's ability to withstand compressive forces is compressive strength. This term specifically indicates how much load or force a material can handle before it begins to deform or break when subjected to compression. In practical applications, materials with high compressive strength can bear significant weight and resist being crushed, which makes it an essential factor in construction and structural design.

Elasticity relates to a material's ability to return to its original shape after being deformed, but it does not directly measure resistance to compressive forces. Malleability refers to how a material can be shaped or deformed under compressive forces without breaking, but it focuses more on the ability to be formed rather than the strength itself. Tensile strength, on the other hand, measures a material’s ability to withstand pulling or stretching forces, which is fundamentally different from compressive forces. Thus, compressive strength is the correct property that directly addresses the ability to endure compression.