compact

English

Pronunciation

  • Noun:
    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɒmˌpækt/
    • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɑmˌpækt/
  • Adjective:
    • (UK) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/
    • (US) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/, /ˈkɑmˌpækt/
  • Verb:
    • (US, UK) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/

Etymology 1

From Latin compactum (“agreement”).

Noun

compact (plural compacts)

  1. An agreement or contract.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle French, from Latin compāctus, perfect passive participle of compingō (“join together”), from com- (“together”) + pangō (“fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *pag- (“to fasten”).

Adjective

compact (comparative more compact, superlative most compact)

  1. Closely packed, i.e. packing much in a small space.
    • Isaac Newton
      glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies
  2. Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
    a compact laptop computer
  3. (mathematics, not comparable, of a set in an Euclidean space) Closed and bounded.
    A set S of real numbers is called compact if every sequence in S has a subsequence that converges to an element again contained in S.
  4. (topology, not comparable, of a set) Such that every open cover of the given set has a finite subcover.
  5. Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose.
    a compact discourse
  6. (obsolete) Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.
    • Shakespeare
      compact with her that's gone
    • Peacham
      a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together
  7. (obsolete) Composed or made; with of.
    • Milton
      A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapour.
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

Vintage black enamel compact, c. 1960s

compact (plural compacts)

  1. A small, slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powderpuff; that fits into a woman's purse or handbag, or that slips into ones pocket.
  2. A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
    • 2012, BBC News: Dundee Courier makes move to compact :
      The Dundee Courier has announced the newspaper will be relaunching as a compact later this week. Editor Richard Neville said a "brighter, bolder" paper would appear from Saturday, shrunk from broadsheet to tabloid size.
Translations

Verb

compact (third-person singular simple present compacts, present participle compacting, simple past and past participle compacted)

  1. (transitive) To make more dense; to compress.
    • 2014 August 24, Jeff Howell, “Home improvements: gravel paths and cutting heating bills [print version: Cold comfort in technology, 23 August 2014, p. P5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property)‎:
      You need to excavate and remove the topsoil, line the subsoil with a geotextile, then lay and compact hardcore.
  2. To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
    • Bible, Eph. iv. 16
      The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.
Synonyms
Translations

See also

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)

Adjective

compact (comparative compacter, superlative compactst)

  1. compact (closely packed), dense
  2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Inflection

Inflection of compact
uninflected compact
inflected compacte
comparative compacter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial compactcompacterhet compactst
het compactste
indefinite m./f. sing. compactecompacterecompactste
n. sing. compactcompactercompactste
plural compactecompacterecompactste
definite compactecompacterecompactste
partitive compactscompacters—

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kɔ̃.pakt/

Adjective

compact (feminine singular compacte, masculine plural compacts, feminine plural compactes)

  1. compact (closely packed), dense
  2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Noun

compact m (plural compacts)

  1. compact disc
  2. music center (US), music centre (UK)
  3. compact camera

Synonyms

Further reading

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