Learning / English Dictionary

COMPACT

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse

Synonyms:

compact; powder compact

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("compact" is a kind of...):

case (a portable container for carrying several objects)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small and economical car

Synonyms:

compact; compact car

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("compact" is a kind of...):

auto; automobile; car; machine; motorcar (a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action

Synonyms:

compact; concordat; covenant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("compact" is a kind of...):

written agreement (a legal document summarizing the agreement between parties)

Instance hyponyms:

Lateran Treaty (the agreement signed in the Lateran Palace in 1929 by Italy and the Holy See which recognized the Vatican City as a sovereign and independent papal state)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Closely and firmly united or packed together

Example:

compact clusters of flowers

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

clayey; cloggy; heavy ((used of soil) compact and fine-grained)

close-packed (packed especially tightly)

consolidated (forming a solid mass)

impacted; wedged (wedged or packed in together)

packed (pressed together or compressed)

serried ((especially of rows as of troops or mountains) pressed together)

tight (packed closely together)

Also:

concentrated (gathered together or made less diffuse)

Antonym:

loose (not compact or dense in structure or arrangement)

Derivation:

compactness (the consistency of a compact solid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Briefly giving the gist of something

Example:

a summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject

Synonyms:

compact; compendious; succinct; summary

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

concise (expressing much in few words)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Having a short and solid form or stature

Example:

a thickset young man

Synonyms:

compact; heavyset; stocky; thick; thickset

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

little; short (low in stature; not tall)

Derivation:

compactness (the consistency of a compact solid)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Squeeze or press together

Example:

the spasm contracted the muscle

Synonyms:

compact; compress; constrict; contract; press; squeeze

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compact" is one way to...):

tighten (become tight or tighter)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "compact"):

choke; strangle (constrict (someone's) throat and keep from breathing)

prim (contract one's lips)

astringe (constrict or bind or draw together)

strangulate (constrict a hollow organ or vessel so as to stop the flow of blood or air)

convulse (contract involuntarily, as in a spasm)

convulse (cause to contract)

bear down; overbear (contract the abdominal muscles during childbirth to ease delivery)

choke; fret; gag (be too tight; rub or press)

choke; scrag (wring the neck of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more compact by or as if by pressing

Example:

compress the data

Synonyms:

compact; compress; pack together

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compact" is one way to...):

force; squeeze; wedge (squeeze like a wedge into a tight space)

"Compact" entails doing...:

press (exert pressure or force to or upon)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "compact"):

pack; tamp; tamp down (press down tightly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

compaction (the act of crushing)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Compress into a wad

Example:

wad paper into the box

Synonyms:

bundle; compact; pack; wad

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compact" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

Verb group:

compact; pack (have the property of being packable or of compacting easily)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "compact"):

puddle (work a wet mixture, such as concrete or mud)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

compaction (the act of crushing)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Have the property of being packable or of compacting easily

Example:

Such odd-shaped items do not pack well

Synonyms:

compact; pack

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "compact" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Verb group:

bundle; compact; pack; wad (compress into a wad)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s Adjective

Derivation:

compaction (an increase in the density of something)

Credits

 Context examples: 

But at high pressures, like those in crushingly deep oceans like Ganymede's, the ice crystal structures become more compact.

(Ganymede may harbor 'club sandwich' of oceans and ice, NASA)

In 2016, Hubble observations also did not find evidence for hydrogen atmospheres in c and d. These results and the new ones, instead, favor more compact atmospheres like those of Earth, Venus and Mars.

(New Clues to TRAPPIST-1 Planet Compositions, Atmospheres, NASA)

Diagnostic features include nodules of compact 'wet' keratin and dystrophic calcification.

(Adamantinomatous Craniopharyngioma, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)

A compact roll of tobacco leaves prepared for smoking.

(Cigar, NCI Thesaurus)

A tablet that has been compacted into capsule shape and covered in sugar.

(Compressed Sugar Coated Caplet Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Keeshonden are compact little animals with a strong resemblance to its ancestor the Samoyed, with oblique chestnut eyes, and erect triangular ears.

(Keeshond, NCI Thesaurus)

The English Springer Spaniel is a compact, medium-sized dog with long pendant ears.

(English Springer Spaniel, NCI Thesaurus)

An uncommon congenital abnormality where the left ventricular myocardium fails to compact during embryonic development, leading to cardiomyopathy with a variable degree of ventricular dysfunction.

(Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

A microscopic finding indicating that the neoplastic cells are arranged in compact nests in a tumor sample.

(Nested Pattern, NCI Thesaurus)

It will not be possible for you to present in that compact form which is dear to your heart.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)