Adjacent Words

Compact definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMPACT, a.
1. Closely and firmly united, as the particles of solid bodies; firm; close; solid; dense. Stone, iron and wood are compact bodies. A compact leaf, in botany, is one having the pulp of a close firm texture.
2. Composed; consisting.
A wandering fire,
Compact of unctuous vapor.
3. Joined; held together.
A pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together.
4. Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose; as a compact discourse.
COMPACT, n. An agreement; a contract between parties; a word that may be applied, in a general sense, to any covenant or contract between individuals; but it is more generally applied to agreements between nations and states, as treaties and confederacies. So the constitution of the United States is a political contract between the States; a national compact. Or the word is applied to the agreement of the individuals of a community.
The law of nations depends on mutual compacts, treaties, leagues, etc.
In the beginnings of speech there was an implicit compact, founded on common consent.
COMPACT, v.t.
1. To thrust, drive or press closely together; to join firmly; to consolidate; to make close; as the parts which compose a body.
Now the bright sun compacts the precious stone.
2. To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
The whole body fitly joined together and compacted. Ephesians 4.
3. To league with.
Thou pernicious woman,
Compact with her thats gone.
4. To compose or make out of.
If he, compact of jars, grow musical.
In the two last examples, compact is used for compacted.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: closely and firmly united or packed together; "compact soil"; "compact clusters of flowers" [ant: loose]
2: having a short and solid form or stature; "a wrestler of compact build"; "he was tall and heavyset"; "stocky legs"; "a thickset young man" [syn: compact, heavyset, stocky, thick, thickset]
3: briefly giving the gist of something; "a short and compendious book"; "a compact style is brief and pithy"; "succinct comparisons"; "a summary formulation of a wide- ranging subject" [syn: compendious, compact, succinct, summary] n
1: a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse [syn: compact, powder compact]
2: a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action [syn: covenant, compact, concordat]
3: a small and economical car [syn: compact, compact car] v
1: have the property of being packable or of compacting easily; "This powder compacts easily"; "Such odd-shaped items do not pack well" [syn: compact, pack]
2: compress into a wad; "wad paper into the box" [syn: pack, bundle, wad, compact]
3: make more compact by or as if by pressing; "compress the data" [syn: compress, compact, pack together] [ant: decompress, uncompress]
4: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle" [syn: compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract, press]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, firmly put together, from Latin compactus, from past participle of compingere to put together, from com- + pangere to fasten — more at pact Date: 14th century 1. predominantly formed or filled ; composed, made 2. a. having a dense structure or parts or units closely packed or joined <a compact woolen> <compact bone> b. not diffuse or verbose <a compact statement> c. occupying a small volume by reason of efficient use of space <a compact camera> <a compact formation of troops> d. short-bodied, solid, and without excess flesh 3. being a topological space and especially a metric space with the property that for any collection of open sets which contains it there is a subset of the collection with a finite number of elements which also contains it • compactly adverb • compactness noun II. verb Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to make up by connecting or combining ; compose 2. a. to knit or draw together ; combine b. to press together ; compress intransitive verb to become compacted • compactible adjective • compactor also compacter noun III. noun Date: 1601 something that is compact or compacted: a. a small cosmetic case (as for compressed powder) b. an automobile smaller than an intermediate but larger than a subcompact IV. noun Etymology: Latin compactum, from neuter of compactus, past participle of compacisci to make an agreement, from com- + pacisci to contract — more at pact Date: 1591 an agreement or covenant between two or more parties

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. adj., v., & n. --adj. 1 closely or neatly packed together. 2 (of a piece of equipment, a room, etc.) well-fitted and practical though small. 3 (of style etc.) condensed; brief. 4 (esp. of the human body) small but well-proportioned. 5 (foll. by of) composed or made up of. --v.tr. 1 join or press firmly together. 2 condense. 3 (usu. foll. by of) compose; make up. --n. 1 a small, flat, usu. decorated, case for face-powder, a mirror, etc. 2 an object formed by compacting powder. 3 US a medium-sized motor car. Phrases and idioms: compact disc a disc on which information or sound is recorded digitally and reproduced by reflection of laser light. Derivatives: compaction n. compactly adv. compactness n. compactor n. Etymology: ME f. L compingere compact- (as COM-, pangere fasten) 2. n. an agreement or contract between two or more parties. Etymology: L compactum f. compacisci compact- (as COM-, pacisci covenant): cf. PACT

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Compact Com*pact", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Compacted; p. pr. & vb. n. Compacting.] 1. To thrust, drive, or press closely together; to join firmly; to consolidate; to make close; -- as the parts which compose a body. Now the bright sun compacts the precious stone. --Blackstone. 2. To unite or connect firmly, as in a system. The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth. --Eph. iv. 16.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Compact Com"pact, n. [L. compactum, fr. compacisci, p. p. compactus, to make an agreement with; com- + pacisci to make an agreement. See Pact.] An agreement between parties; a covenant or contract. The law of nations depends on mutual compacts, treaties, leagues, etc. --Blackstone. Wedlock is described as the indissoluble compact. --Macaulay. The federal constitution has been styled a compact between the States by which it was ratified. --Wharton. Syn: See Covenant.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Compact Com*pact" (k[o^]m*p[a^]kt"), p. p. & a [L. compactus, p. p. of compingere to join or unite; com- + pangere to fasten, fix: cf. F. compacte. See Pact.] 1. Joined or held together; leagued; confederated. [Obs.] ``Compact with her that's gone.'' --Shak. A pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together. --Peacham. 2. Composed or made; -- with of. [Poetic] A wandering fire, Compact of unctuous vapor. --Milton. 3. Closely or firmly united, as the particles of solid bodies; firm; close; solid; dense. Glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies. --Sir I. Newton. 4. Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose; as, a compact discourse. Syn: Firm; close; solid; dense; pithy; sententious.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(compacted) 1. Compact things are small or take up very little space. You use this word when you think this is a good quality. ...my compact office in Washington. ...the new, more compact Czech government. ADJ: usu ADJ n [approval] • compactness The very compactness of the cottage made it all the more snug and appealing. N-UNCOUNT 2. A compact person is small but strong. He was compact, probably no taller than me... ADJ 3. A compact cassette, camera, or car is a small type of cassette, camera, or car. ADJ: ADJ n 4. To compact something means to press it so that it becomes more solid. (FORMAL) The Smith boy was compacting the trash... The soil settles and is compacted by the winter rain. = compress VERB: V n, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Agreement, contract, covenant, stipulation, bargain, treaty, concordat, convention, pact, arrangement. II. v. a. 1. Press together, condense, compress. 2. Consolidate, join firmly, knit together, bind, unite. III. a. 1. Close, dense, solid, firm, compressed, pressed together, closely put together, of firm texture. 2. Pithy, terse, concise, laconic, sententious, short, brief, compendious, succinct, pointed, full of meaning. 3. [Archaic.] Compacted. See the verb.

Moby Thesaurus

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