Abstract Rubber has a stress-strain response to compression-shear loadings that is the same as its stress-strain response to simple shear loadings. However, its load-deflection response to the compression-shear loading is not the same as its simple shear response. In determining the stress-strain relationship of the compression-shear loading from the load-deflection responses, three factors must be considered. First, the compression of the sample gives a lower rubber thickness. After calculating the strain, the lower thickness will give a higher strain than the original thickness at an equal deflection. Second, the compression gives a larger surface area due to bulging of the rubber. The higher area would result in a lower stress than the original area at an equal load. Third, the force that is necessary to compress the rubber block is stored in the rubber. When the rubber is sheared, the shear vector of the compressive force aides in deflecting the rubber. Therefore, the shear force vector would be added to the recorded load to determine the total force needed to shear the rubber. The resulting shear stress would be higher than the shear stress calculated by using the recorded load in calculating the shear stress. With all three factors accounted for, the shear stress-strain of the rubber is the same for the compressed part as it is for the uncompressed part. Therefore, the rubber's shear modulus, the slope of the shear stress-strain curve, has not been affected by the superimposed compression and remains an inherent property of the rubber. When designing a part to be used in a compression-shear application, one can use the shear and compression moduli normally obtained for shear and compression applications. The compression modulus would be used for determining the compressive spring rate and the amount of force used in lowering the shear spring rate. The shear modulus would be used to determine the shear rate by taking into account the geometry changes and the force due to compression.