complement
something that completes or makes perfect:A good wine is a complement to a good meal.
the quantity or amount that completes anything: We now have a full complement of packers.
either of two parts or things needed to complete the whole; counterpart.
full quantity or amount; complete allowance.
the full number of officers and crew required on a ship.
Grammar.
a word or group of words that completes a grammatical construction in the predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object, as small in The house is small or president in They elected her president.: Compare object complement, subject complement.
any word or group of words used to complete a grammatical construction, especially in the predicate, including adverbials, as on the table in He put it on the table, infinitives, as to go in They are ready to go, and sometimes objects, as ball in He caught the ball.
Geometry. the quantity by which an angle or an arc falls short of 90° or a quarter of a circle.: Compare supplement (def. 4).
Also called absolute complement. Mathematics. the set of all the elements of a universal set not included in a given set.
Music. the interval that completes an octave when added to a given interval.
Immunology.
a system in vertebrate blood of 12 or more proteins that react in a cascade to a cell displaying immune complexes or foreign surfaces, acting in various combinations to coat the cell and promote phagocytosis, make holes in the cell wall, or enhance the inflammatory response.
any of the proteins in the complement system, designated C1, C2, etc.
to complete; form a complement to: This belt complements the dress better than that one.
Obsolete. to compliment.
Obsolete. to compliment.
Origin of complement
1synonym study For complement
confusables note For complement
Other words from complement
- com·ple·ment·er, noun
Words that may be confused with complement
- 1. complement , supplement (see synonym study at the current entry)
- 2. complement , compliment (see confusables note at the current entry)
Words Nearby complement
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use complement in a sentence
Rusenko acknowledges that QR-code ordering may not be for everyone and notes that it is designed as a complement rather than a replacement for traditional service from a waiter.
Fewer waiters, no menus: Is Square’s new service the future of dining? | Jeff | September 29, 2020 | FortuneAs he had on Tuesday, he also explicitly made the link between having a full complement of nine justices and a potential need for the Supreme Court to rule on a disputed election result.
Senate Republicans push for rapid confirmation of still-unnamed Supreme Court nominee | Seung Min Kim, Erica Werner | September 24, 2020 | Washington PostThere’s been a series of programs, intentional and targeted interventions, that really allow us now to look at the full complement of our people’s journey.
Face masks can be a complement to other things when other things are safely in place.
Their streaming ad inventory was sold in complement to their linear ad inventory.
TV networks begin to signal willingness to prioritize streaming over linear | Tim Peterson | July 29, 2020 | Digiday
Champagne, which is also acidic, offers a nice complement to anything from tuna tartare to beef bourguignon.
They play an important role fighting next to the men because they complement one another.
Embedding With the Women Who Are Kicking ISIS Ass | Susannah George | December 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo complement brain wiring, everyone walks around with retinal cams.
The ship is highly automated with a crew of just 142 -- compared to older ships that have a complement of about 300.
Can the Navy's $12 Billion Stealth Destroyer Stay Afloat? | Dave Majumdar | October 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe mini-thons will be thematically organized to complement the new episode.
A 200-Hour ‘Simpsons’ Marathon? That’s Unpossible! | Rich Goldstein | July 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTake a case in Trigonometry—a complement is what remains after subtracting an angle from one right-angle.
Assimilative Memory | Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)Her total Naval complement is 2200 officers and enlisted men of the regular Navy.
The French continually offers redundancy of subject or complement, but not with the relative.
Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred DownerIt is the apt accompaniment of a whining tongue, the fit complement of a verjuice countenance.
A Cursory History of Swearing | Julian SharmanThere is no dramme of manhood to suspect,On such thin ayrie circumstance as thisMeere complement and courtship.
The Fatal Dowry | Philip Massinger
British Dictionary definitions for complement
a person or thing that completes something
one of two parts that make up a whole or complete each other
a complete amount, number, etc (often in the phrase full complement)
the officers and crew needed to man a ship
grammar
a noun phrase that follows a copula or similar verb, as for example an idiot in the sentence He is an idiot
a clause that serves as the subject or direct object of a verb or the direct object of a preposition, as for example that he would be early in the sentence I hoped that he would be early
maths the angle that when added to a specified angle produces a right angle
logic maths the class of all things, or of all members of a given universe of discourse, that are not members of a given set
music the inverted form of an interval that, when added to the interval, completes the octave: the sixth is the complement of the third
immunol a group of proteins in the blood serum that, when activated by antibodies, causes destruction of alien cells, such as bacteria
(tr) to add to, make complete, or form a complement to
Origin of complement
1confusable For complement
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for complement
[ kŏm′plə-mənt ]
A group of proteins in blood serum that interact systematically as part of the body's immune response to destroy disease-causing antigens, especially bacteria. Complement proteins interact with antibodies and other chemical substances to cause the disintegration of foreign cells and enhance other immune functions such as phagocytosis.
A complementary color.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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