compact

¹ American  

[kuhm-pakt, kom-, kom-pakt, kuhm-pakt, kom-pakt] / kəmˈpækt, kɒm-, ˈkɒm pækt, kəmˈpækt, ˈkɒm pækt /

adjective

1. joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid.

   compact soil.

2. arranged within a relatively small space.

   a compact shopping center;

   a compact kitchen.

   Synonyms:

   snug, small

3. designed to be small in size and economical in operation.

4. solidly or firmly built.

   the compact body of a lightweight wrestler.

5. expressed concisely; pithy; terse; not diffuse.

   a compact review of the week's news.

   Synonyms:

   brief, succinct, concise

6. composed or made (usually followed byof ).

   a book compact of form and content.

7. Mathematics. Also (of a set) having the property that in any collection of open sets whose union contains the given set there exists a finite number of open sets whose union contains the given set; having the property that every open cover has a finite subcover.

---

verb (used with object)

• compacts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• compacted,
  past participle,  past
• compacting
  present participle

1. to join or pack closely together; consolidate; condense.

   Synonyms:

   compress

2. to make firm or stable.

   Synonyms:

   solidify, stabilize

3. to form or make by close union or conjunction; make up or compose.

4. Metallurgy. to compress (metallic or metallic and nonmetallic powders) in a die to be sintered.

5. to crush into compact form for convenient disposal or for storage until disposal.

   to compact rubbish.

noun

1. a small case containing a mirror, face powder, a puff, and sometimes rouge.

2. Also called compact car.  an automobile that is smaller than an intermediate but larger than a subcompact and generally has a combined passenger and luggage volume of 100–110 cu. ft. (2.8–3.1 m3 ).

3. Metallurgy. (in powder metallurgy) an object to be sintered formed of metallic or of metallic and nonmetallic powders compressed in a die.

compact ² American  

[kom-pakt] / ˈkɒm pækt /

noun

1. a formal agreement between two or more parties, states, etc.; contract.

   the proposed economic compact between Germany and France.

   Synonyms:

   concordat, convention, entente, pact, treaty

---

compact ¹ British  

adjective

1. closely packed together; dense

2. neatly fitted into a restricted space

3. concise; brief

4. well constructed; solid; firm

5. (foll by of) composed or made up (of)

6. denoting a tabloid-sized version of a newspaper that has traditionally been published in broadsheet form

7. logic (of a relation) having the property that for any pair of elements such that a is related to b, there is some element c such that a is related to c and c to b, as less than on the rational numbers

8. (of a car) small and economical

---

verb

1. to pack or join closely together; compress; condense

2. (foll by of) to create or form by pressing together

   sediment compacted of three types of clay

3. metallurgy to compress (a metal powder) to form a stable product suitable for sintering

noun

1. a small flat case containing a mirror, face powder, etc, designed to be carried in a woman's handbag

2. a comparatively small and economical car

3. metallurgy a mass of metal prepared for sintering by cold-pressing a metal powder

4. a tabloid-sized version of a newspaper that has traditionally been publis hed in broadsheet form

compact ² British  

/ ˈkɒmpækt /

noun

1. an official contract or agreement

---

Synonym Usage

See agreement.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• compactedness
  noun
• compacter
  noun
• compaction
  noun
• compactness
  noun
• uncompacted
  adjective
• well-compacted
  adjective
• compactedly
  adverb
• compactly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• compacting
  present
• compacted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• compact
  simple
• compacts
  simple
• have compacted
  perfect
• has compacted
  perfect
• am compacting
  progressive
• are compacting
  progressive
• is compacting
  progressive
• have been compacting
  perfect progressive
• has been compacting
  perfect progressive

Past

• compacted
  simple
• had compacted
  perfect
• was compacting
  progressive
• were compacting
  progressive
• had been compacting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will compact
  simple
• will have compacted
  perfect
• will be compacting
  progressive
• will have been compacting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of compact¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin compāctus (past participle of compingere “to shut away, put away, bind together”), equivalent to com- prefix + pag-, stem of pangere “to fix, arrange” + -tus past participle suffix; see com-; cf. peace; pact, compact ² )

Origin of compact²

First recorded in 1550–60; from Latin compactum, compectum, noun use of neuter of compactus (past participle of compacīscī “to make an agreement”), equivalent to com- prefix + pac- (stem of pacīscī “to secure by negotiation” + -tus past participle ending); see com-; cf. compact ¹, pact, peace

Explanation

A compact is a signed written agreement that binds you to do what you've promised. It also refers to something small or closely grouped together, like the row of compact rental cars you see when you wanted a van. As a verb, compact means "to compress or squeeze together," like how the garbage truck compacts your bags of trash. Compact, the adjective, describes something that is tightly packed together, like your luggage that is so compact it fits in the overhead compartment. Compact can also describe a brief summary, like a compact explanation of how the universe began that lasted only 10 minutes!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

compact compacts compacted compacting

Our guest this week—a Ford Maverick XL compact pickup, with a 2.0-liter, gas-only engine—turns back the clock in a number of ways.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

According to the team's calculations, compact objects larger than roughly 90 meters in size could pass through the transition and emerge again after the Universe began expanding.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Training at Sky Park, home of Sydney FC, they had access to a compact but high-quality training facility, in addition to an open session at Allianz Stadium that was relatively low in intensity.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The compact car has a screen and modern safety features, but relies on physical buttons and a rotary control knob for a more old-school experience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

She appeared compact and plump at the same time.

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

“We would all benefit together by figuring out the community compacts required to enable sustainable development across the country,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

“The social compacts that the people have sown in them are very ingrained.”

From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024

For years, American drivers have been gravitating toward sport utility vehicles and away from sedans, compacts and hatchbacks.

From New York Times ● May 8, 2024

In compacts, we ourselves determine and promise what shall be done, before we are obliged to do it; in laws, we are obliged to act without ourselves determining or promising any thing at all.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023

This bottleneck compacts the waves and gives them even more force.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

The scans produced detailed three dimensional images of the compacted material inside the tooth sockets without damaging either the fossils or the sediment.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026

Even the design of farm machinery was considered — and tractors were fitted with wider tires to ensure that soil was less compacted when driven over.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

He said trampling not only caused the flowers to break but also meant the ground underneath the plants becomes compacted so new plants could not grow.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

On Thursday, mangled metal screeched as an excavator compacted the skeletons of former homes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

He has his field light and is swinging its beam repeatedly over a welter of compacted wreckage in the far corner-stones and cement and splintered wood.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

A digger methodically spread it out, compacting it as it worked.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2025

“We need to stop the overdraft of compacting aquifers,” Knight and Lees wrote, suggesting that efforts be strategically “targeted to the deeper parts of the aquifer system.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2024

And because the ice is stable, the thick annual layers can accumulate for centuries, compacting into ice.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 18, 2024

Deep in Antarctica’s frigid interior, fluffy, air-filled snow accumulates layer by layer, compacting into slabs of ice over millennia.

From Scientific American ● Feb. 9, 2023

After picking for two long hours, Roberto helped Mama make more room in her sack by lifting it upright and shaking it several times up and down, compacting the cotton to the bottom.

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez

Related Words

• solid
• tight