compartment

[kuhm-pahrt-muhnt]

noun

1. a part or space marked or partitioned off.

   Synonyms: section, division

2. a separate room, section, etc..

   a baggage compartment.

3. U.S. Railroads.,  a private bedroom with toilet facilities.

4. a separate aspect, function, or the like.

   the compartments of the human mind.

5. Architecture.,  a distinct major division of a design.

6. Heraldry.,  a decorative base, as a grassy mound, on which the supporters of an escutcheon stand or rest.

verb (used with object)

1. to divide into compartments.

compartment

/ kəmˈpɑːtmənt, ˌkɒmpɑːtˈmɛntəl /

noun

1. one of the sections into which an area, esp an enclosed space, is divided or partitioned

2. any separate part or section

   a compartment of the mind

3. a small storage space; locker

Other Word Forms

• compartmentally adverb
• compartmental adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of compartment¹

1555–65; < Middle French compartiment < Italian compartimento. See compart, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of compartment¹

C16: from French compartiment, ultimately from Late Latin compartīrī to share, from Latin com- with + partīrī to apportion, from pars _part

Example Sentences

The complaint said they found a lighter inside the glove compartment of the suspect’s car on Jan. 24.

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The family have changed a kitchen unit that once housed their bin so that it now has a number of different compartments for various types of rubbish.

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Wander, for instance, to a compartment at the ship’s bow, and you may hear conspiratorial whispers.

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Andy Nicholson, the show’s production designer, said his team meticulously studied the film and books featuring fan renderings to help replicate its labyrinth of metallic corridors, cramped compartments and blinking command center.

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Police said officers were called to a bus stop in Kaiwaka, a small town in the north of the country, on Sunday after a passenger asked for access to the luggage compartment.

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Related Words

• alcove 
• carriage 
• cell 
• chamber 
• cubicle 
• locker 
• slot