compact

[adjective kuhm-pakt, kom-, kom-pakt; verb kuhm-pakt; noun kom-pakt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compact ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

joined or packed together; closely and firmly united; dense; solid: compact soil.

arranged within a relatively small space: a compact shopping center; a compact kitchen.

designed to be small in size and economical in operation.

solidly or firmly built: the compact body of a lightweight wrestler.

expressed concisely; pithy; terse; not diffuse: a compact review of the week's news.

composed or made (usually followed by of): a book compact of form and content.

Also bicompact. Mathematics. (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)

to join or pack closely together; consolidate; condense.

to make firm or stable.

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

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

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

noun

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

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).

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

Origin of compact

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin compāctus (past participle of compingere to shut away, bind together), equivalent to com- com- + pag-, variant stem of pangere to fix, arrange (akin to pāx peace; cf. pact, compact²) + -tus past participle suffix

Related formscom·pact·ed·ly, adverbcom·pact·ed·ness, nouncom·pact·ly, adverbcom·pact·ness, nounun·com·pact·ed, adjectivewell-com·pact·ed, adjective

Synonyms for compact

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compact ON THESAURUS.COM

2. small, snug. 5. concise, succinct, brief. 8. compress. 9. stabilize, solidify.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for compactness

density, solidity, closeness, concentration, solidness, denseness, terseness, pithiness, succinctness

Examples from the Web for compactness

Contemporary Examples of compactness

Rather, that research suggests that size, not compactness, constitutes the decisive factor.
Houston Rising—Why the Next Great American Cities Aren’t What You Think
Joel Kotkin
April 8, 2013

Historical Examples of compactness

Size, shape, compactness and the number of clusters on a shoot must be noted.
Manual of American Grape-Growing
U. P. Hedrick
The feathers, their warmth, and compactness for shedding water.
Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Nature Study
Ontario Ministry of Education
Australian Handbook (admirable for its wisdom and compactness).
The Caxtons, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The most remarkable thing about the book was its maturity and compactness.
A Collection of Stories, Reviews and Essays
Willa Cather
The Compactness yet completeness will make it a favorite with agriculturists.
Mysteries of Bee-keeping Explained
M. Quinby

British Dictionary definitions for compactness

compact

adjective (kəmˈpækt, ˈkɒmpækt)

closely packed together; dense

neatly fitted into a restricted space

concise; brief

well constructed; solid; firm

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

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

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

US and Canadian (of a car) small and economical

verb (kəmˈpækt) (tr)

to pack or join closely together; compress; condense

(foll by of) to create or form by pressing togethersediment compacted of three types of clay

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

noun (ˈkɒmpækt)

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

US and Canadian a comparatively small and economical car

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

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

Derived Formscompacter, nouncompaction, nouncompactly, adverbcompactness, noun

Word Origin for compact

C16: from Latin compactus, from compingere to put together, from com- together + pangere to fasten

compact

noun

an official contract or agreement

Word Origin for compact

C16: from Latin compactum, from compaciscī to agree, from com- together + paciscī to contract; see pact

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

Word Origin and History for compactness

compact

adj.

late 14c., from Middle French compact (14c.) or directly from Latin compactus "concentrated," past participle of compingere "to fasten together, construct," from com- "with, together" (see com-) + pangere "to fix, fasten" (see pact). Compact car is 1960. Compact disc is from 1979.

compact

n.1

"agreement," 1590s, from Latin compactum "agreement," noun use of neuter past participle of compacisci "come to agreement," from com- "together" (see com-) + pacisci "to covenant, contract" (see pact).

compact

early 15c., from Latin compactus, past participle of compingere "to fasten together" (see compact (adj.)). Related: Compacted; compacting.

compact

n.2

"make-up case," 1921, from compact (adj.), based on its containing compacted face powder.