composite

[ kuhm-poz-it ]

adjective

1. made up of disparate or separate parts or elements; compound:

   a composite drawing; a composite philosophy.

2. Botany. belonging to the Compositae. Compare composite family.
3. (initial capital letter) Architecture. noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders, popular especially since the beginning of the Renaissance but invented by the ancient Romans, in which the Roman Ionic and Corinthian orders are combined, so that four diagonally set Ionic volutes, variously ornamented, rest upon a bell of Corinthian acanthus leaves. Compare Corinthian ( def 2 ), Doric ( def 3 ), Ionic ( def 1 ), Tuscan ( def 2 ).
4. Rocketry.
   1. (of a rocket or missile) having more than one stage.
   2. (of a solid propellant) made up of a mixture of fuel and oxidizer.
5. Nautical. noting a vessel having frames of one material and shells and decking of another, especially one having iron or steel frames with shells and decks planked.
6. Mathematics. of or relating to a composite function or a composite number.

noun

1. something composite; a compound.
2. Botany. a composite plant.
3. a picture, photograph, or the like, that combines several separate pictures.

verb (used with object)

, com·pos·it·ed, com·pos·it·ing.

1. to make a composite of.

composite

/ ˈkɒmpəzɪt /

adjective

1. composed of separate parts; compound
2. of, relating to, or belonging to the plant family Asteraceae
3. maths capable of being factorized or decomposed

   a composite function

4. See Tuscan, Doric
   sometimes capital denoting or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture: characterized by a combination of the Ionic and Corinthian styles See also Doric Tuscan

noun

1. something composed of separate parts; compound
2. any plant of the family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae ), typically having flower heads composed of ray flowers (e.g. dandelion), disc flowers (e.g. thistle), or both (e.g. daisy)
3. a material, such as reinforced concrete, made of two or more distinct materials
4. a proposal that has been composited

verb

1. tr to merge related motions from local branches of (a political party, trade union, etc) so as to produce a manageable number of proposals for discussion at national level

Derived Forms

• ˈcompositely, adverb
• ˈcompositeness, noun

Other Words From

• com·posite·ly adverb
• com·posite·ness noun
• hyper·com·posite adjective
• noncom·posite adjective noun
• noncom·posite·ly adverb
• noncom·posite·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of composite¹

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin compositus (past participle of compōnere to put together), equivalent to com- com- + positus placed; posit

Word History and Origins

Origin of composite¹

C16: from Latin compositus well arranged, from compōnere to collect, arrange; see component

Example Sentences

The composite image, created by stacking together multiple photos that had been taken while the embryo was in motion, documents stages of the embryo’s development from left to right.

From Science News

The planters appear to look like heavy stone or concrete, but the material is actually a composite of recycled plastic and powdered stone.

From Popular-Science

This style utilizes a flexible TR90 material that can bend under pressure without breaking, and the composite lenses feature UV400 protection, so they’re ideal for travel.

From Popular-Science

The Nasdaq composite had already returned to a record, thanks to huge gains for the big tech stocks that dominate it.

From Fortune

D’Arcy notes that the team is already working on ways to turn their nanofibers into composite materials containing other semiconductors, which they hope will boost capacity by a factor of ten.

From Singularity Hub 

The composite photo whose eyes follow you around the room are less Matthew Lewis or Sheridan Le Fanu than “Scooby-Doo.”

From The Daily Beast

It is adopting technology—in rocket propulsion, composite construction, and aerodynamic refinements—already in use elsewhere.

From The Daily Beast

Wolf says he wanted to “create a composite portrait of the teenager that was about to be born.”

From The Daily Beast

But we did have to compress time, and we did have to composite some of the characters.

From The Daily Beast

Chavez was reluctant to discuss an active investigation, so he told me an intricate story that is a composite of real meth cases.

From The Daily Beast

He seemed to pass under the mastery of a great mood that was a composite reproduction of all the moods of his forgotten boyhood.

From Project Gutenberg

Christianity seems to be a composite religion, made up of fragments of religions of far greater antiquity.

From Project Gutenberg

Pandans have a composite fruit made up of smaller fruits called drupes.

From Project Gutenberg

Not even a fair, honest, every-day portrait of my father's and mother's composite features—but a picture of myself!

From Project Gutenberg

Of certain features of existing places I have made a composite, which is the "Mushroom Town" of this book.

From Project Gutenberg