compact

[ adjective kuhm-pakt, kom-, kom-pakt; verb kuhm-pakt; noun kom-pakt ]

/ adjective kəmˈpækt, kɒm-, ˈkɒm pækt; verb kəmˈpækt; noun ˈkɒm pækt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR compact ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid: compact soil.

arranged within a relatively small space: a compact shopping center; a compact kitchen.

designed to be small in size and economical in operation.

solidly or firmly built: the compact body of a lightweight wrestler.

expressed concisely; pithy; terse; not diffuse: a compact review of the week's news.

composed or made (usually followed by of): a book compact of form and content.

Also bicompact. Mathematics. (of a set) having the property that in any collection of open sets whose union contains the given set there exists a finite number of open sets whose union contains the given set; having the property that every open cover has a finite subcover.

verb (used with object)

to join or pack closely together; consolidate; condense.

to make firm or stable.

to form or make by close union or conjunction; make up or compose.

Metallurgy. to compress (metallic or metallic and nonmetallic powders) in a die to be sintered.

to crush into compact form for convenient disposal or for storage until disposal: to compact rubbish.

noun

a small case containing a mirror, face powder, a puff, and sometimes rouge.

Also called compact car. an automobile that is smaller than an intermediate but larger than a subcompact and generally has a combined passenger and luggage volume of 100–110 cu. ft. (2.8–3.1 m3).

Metallurgy. (in powder metallurgy) an object to be sintered formed of metallic or of metallic and nonmetallic powders compressed in a die.

Origin of compact

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin compāctus (past participle of compingere to shut away, bind together), equivalent to com- com- + pag-, variant stem of pangere to fix, arrange (akin to pāx peace; cf. pact, compact²) + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR compact

2 small, snug.

5 concise, succinct, brief.

8 compress.

9 stabilize, solidify.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR compact ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM compact

com·pact·ed·ly, adverb com·pact·ed·ness, noun com·pact·ly, adverb com·pact·ness, noun

un·com·pact·ed, adjective well-com·pact·ed, adjective

Words nearby compact

comox, comp, comp time, comp., comp. gen., compact, compact bone, compact camera, compact disc, compact disc erasable, compact disc player

Definition for compact (2 of 2)

compact ²

[ kom-pakt ]

/ ˈkɒm pækt /

noun

a formal agreement between two or more parties, states, etc.; contract: the proposed economic compact between Germany and France.

Origin of compact

1580–90; < Latin compactum, compectum, noun use of neuter of compactus (past participle of compacīscī to make an agreement), equivalent to com- com- + pac- (stem of pacīscī to secure by negotiation, akin to pāx settlement ending hostilities, peace) + -tus past participle ending

SYNONYMS FOR compact

treaty, pact, entente, convention, concordat.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR compact ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for compact

See agreement.

Example sentences from the Web for compact

Films are at their best when they can compact a story down to its essentials.

Gamers Want to Game: Video Games Aren't Blockbuster Movies |Alec Kubas-Meyer |August 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The next thing that happened, which was really great, was that the tapes became available on compact discs.

Going Public With the Nixon Tapes |Scott Porch |August 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It will swiftly become clear that there is no room in this starry-eyed arrangement for a compact with Washington.

John Kerry Just Visited. But Should We Just Forget About India? |Tunku Varadarajan |August 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
One of note is a compact power adaptor with a protective cover.

Apple Wants to Make Your Head Into an App |Abby Haglage |February 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Compact and precise—just 172 pages of text and 23 pages of notes—the book is a model of lucid historical writing.

The Best Books on President Lincoln |Allen Barra |February 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The speculation failed, and your father basely withdrew from the compact, persuading the other brother to follow his lead.

The Stowmarket Mystery |Louis Tracy
It was not a long confession, but it was compact and telling.

The Grey Cloak |Harold MacGrath
Each belt represented a compact, the conditions of which were retained in memory by the chiefs and warriors of the tribe.

Legends of The Kaw |Carrie de Voe
The boulders of Erreré are entirely distinct from the rock of the Serra, and consist of masses of compact hornblende.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 106, August, 1866 |Various
The streets are narrow, and the whole village as compact as if built to sustain a siege.

Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas |Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

British Dictionary definitions for compact (1 of 2)

compact ¹

adjective (kəmˈpækt, ˈkɒmpækt)

closely packed together; dense

neatly fitted into a restricted space

concise; brief

well constructed; solid; firm

(foll by of) composed or made up (of)

denoting a tabloid-sized version of a newspaper that has traditionally been published in broadsheet form

logic (of a relation) having the property that for any pair of elements such that a is related to b, there is some element c such that a is related to c and c to b, as less than on the rational numbers

US and Canadian (of a car) small and economical

verb (kəmˈpækt) (tr)

to pack or join closely together; compress; condense

(foll by of) to create or form by pressing together sediment compacted of three types of clay

metallurgy to compress (a metal powder) to form a stable product suitable for sintering

noun (ˈkɒmpækt)

a small flat case containing a mirror, face powder, etc, designed to be carried in a woman's handbag

US and Canadian a comparatively small and economical car

metallurgy a mass of metal prepared for sintering by cold-pressing a metal powder

a tabloid-sized version of a newspaper that has traditionally been publis hed in broadsheet form

Derived forms of compact

compacter, noun compaction, noun compactly, adverb compactness, noun

Word Origin for compact

C16: from Latin compactus, from compingere to put together, from com- together + pangere to fasten

British Dictionary definitions for compact (2 of 2)

compact ²

/ (ˈkɒmpækt) /

noun

an official contract or agreement

Word Origin for compact

C16: from Latin compactum, from compaciscī to agree, from com- together + paciscī to contract; see pact

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

compact

adjective

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of compact

SYNONYMS FOR compact

OTHER WORDS FROM compact

Words nearby compact

Definition for compact (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of compact

SYNONYMS FOR compact

synonym study for compact

Example sentences from the Web for compact

British Dictionary definitions for compact (1 of 2)

adjective (kəmˈpækt, ˈkɒmpækt)

verb (kəmˈpækt) (tr)

noun (ˈkɒmpækt)

Derived forms of compact

Word Origin for compact

British Dictionary definitions for compact (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for compact

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

compact

adjective

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of compact

SYNONYMS FOR compact

OTHER WORDS FROM compact

Words nearby compact

Definition for compact (2 of 2)

noun

Origin of compact

SYNONYMS FOR compact

synonym study for compact

Words related to compact

Example sentences from the Web for compact

British Dictionary definitions for compact (1 of 2)

adjective (kəmˈpækt, ˈkɒmpækt)

verb (kəmˈpækt) (tr)

noun (ˈkɒmpækt)

Derived forms of compact

Word Origin for compact

British Dictionary definitions for compact (2 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for compact