comprise
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to include or contain.
The Soviet Union comprised several socialist republics.
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to consist of; be composed of.
The advisory board comprises six members.
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to form or constitute.
Seminars and lectures comprised the day's activities.
idioms
verb
-
to include; contain
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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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have comprisedperfect
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has comprisedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been comprisingperfect progressive
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has been comprisingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is comprisingprogressive 3rd person singular
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comprisessingular 3rd person
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are comprisingprogressive
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am comprisingprogressive 1st person singular
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comprisingparticiple
Past
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had comprisedperfect
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had been comprisingperfect progressive
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was comprisingprogressive singular
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comprisedsimple
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were comprisingprogressive plural
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comprisedparticiple
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.
The tariff decision comes after the US began an investigation in March into the 60 trading partners, which comprise 99.4% of US imports, over the forced labour concerns.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
“Mine,” in this sense, doesn’t simply allude to something Corvette will steal; she’s referring to all the invisible things that comprise a mass-produced product — the labor and energy and time.
From Salon • May 22, 2026
In South Korea, tech giants SK Hynix and Samsung have grown to comprise nearly half of the entire Kospi index, even as the benchmark has slid roughly 9% from its all-time high on May 14.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Together, the three LPs comprise 43 new songs from the Toronto-born rapper and singer who’s been searching for a path back to the pop-cultural perch he occupied for much of the 2010s.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
My mitochondria comprise a very large proportion of me.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
