comprise
Americanverb (used with object)
-
comprises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
comprised,
past participle, past
-
comprising
present participle
-
to include or contain.
The Soviet Union comprised several socialist republics.
-
to consist of; be composed of.
The advisory board comprises six members.
-
to form or constitute.
Seminars and lectures comprised the day's activities.
idioms
verb
-
to include; contain
-
to constitute the whole of; consist of
her singing comprised the entertainment
Usage
The use of of after comprise should be avoided: the library comprises (not comprises of ) 500 000 books and manuscripts
Synonym Usage
See include.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
comprisesimple
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comprisessimple
-
have comprisedperfect
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has comprisedperfect
-
am comprisingprogressive
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are comprisingprogressive
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is comprisingprogressive
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have been comprisingperfect progressive
-
has been comprisingperfect progressive
Past
-
comprisedsimple
-
had comprisedperfect
-
was comprisingprogressive
-
were comprisingprogressive
-
had been comprisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of comprise
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English comprisen, from Middle French compris (past participle of comprendre ), from Latin comprehēnsus; see comprehension
Explanation
When something comprises other things, it is made up of them or formed from them. The periodic table comprises 118 elements, because the whole comprises the parts. In its traditional use, the word comprise is the opposite of compose: if A comprises X, Y, and Z, then X, Y, and Z compose A. But because compose and comprise sound so much alike, people have long confused the two. So now you often hear things like "The band is comprised of a guitarist, a bassist, and a hairy drummer," whereas sticklers would prefer "is composed of" in that sentence. The word is undergoing a usage shift, making it just as hairy as that drummer!
Vocabulary lists containing comprise
List 1
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Hatchet
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She describes them in two manuscripts, which together comprise the earliest texts known to have been written in English by a woman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Roughly 85 percent of water systems serve communities of fewer than 50,000, communities that together comprise less than 10 percent of the entire U.S. population.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
"Those 5,000 people comprise a community. Not just men and women under stress. It's a community under stress."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
U.S. revenues now comprise 81% of the overall business, up from 73% last year, Palantir CFO David Glazer told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The company owns factories, machinery and showrooms, and employs mechanics, accountants and secretaries, but all these together do not comprise Peugeot.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
Lucas Museum’s Chief Executive Tracey Bates said “Star Wars” comprises only 7% of the museum’s inaugural exhibitions, but there’s still plenty for fans — even casual ones — to sink their teeth into.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The G20 comprises 19 nations plus the European Union and the African Union.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
Shein said its product selection comprises of more than 2 million apparel styles, with customers able to select from about 4,700 new styles on a daily basis.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Her forearm tattoo comprises geometric shapes symbolising different members and aspects of her family.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
This list comprises the basic elements of music as we understand them in Western culture.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The transaction comprised $1.25 billion of five-year sukuk maturing in 2031 and $2 billion of 10-year notes due in 2036.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Not only in the sheer existence of the AI itself, which is comprised of literal stolen material, but in robbing creators of their process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
According to data from Circana, they comprised 1.6% of women’s total footwear sales for the 12 months ending in June; that was a bit up from 1.4% a year ago.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
The expedition comprised 10 people -- including Purja, five Nepalis, a Pakistani, an Omani, an American, and a climber from China.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Half of the floor comprised offices for the various mental-health-staff members—psychiatrists, nurses, and social workers.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
The vast Theban necropolis, comprising an area of around 10km², was Egypt’s main royal and elite cemetery for half a millennium, from ca.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
It appears, for instance, on the website of the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, a lobbying organization comprising health insurers and pro-business groups such as local chambers of commerce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The team, comprising around 90 army and police personnel, first broke through into the upper part of a mud-swamped 3A tunnel on Saturday night, pumping air inside and sending in a camera.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
Among the 70-year-old's most famous pieces, produced with his brother Gao Qiang, is a sculpture comprising a squad of Mao-like figures holding Jesus Christ at gunpoint.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
By Rutherford’s reckoning, therefore, the helium atom had two orbital electrons and a nucleus comprising four protons and two electrons; radium had 138 electrons and a nucleus of 226 protons and 88 electrons.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
