compare
Americanverb (used with object)
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compares,
present (3rd person singular)
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compared,
past participle, past
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comparing
present participle
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to examine (two or more objects, ideas, people, etc.) in order to note similarities and differences.
If you compare these three pieces of cloth, you'll see they're all similar in weight.
It's difficult to directly compare the governments of two very different nations.
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to consider or describe as similar; liken.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?”
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Grammar. to form or display the degrees of comparison of (an adjective or adverb).
verb (used without object)
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compares,
present (3rd person singular)
-
compared,
past participle, past
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comparing
present participle
-
to be worthy of comparison; be held equal.
Dekker's plays cannot compare with Shakespeare's.
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to appear in a similar standing.
His recital certainly compares with the one he gave last year.
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to differ in quality or accomplishment as specified.
Their development compares poorly with that of neighbor nations.
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Can we all agree that most people want fair treatment and to compare favorably with others?
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to make a comparison.
The only way we can say which product is better is to compare.
noun
idioms
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compare apples to / with / and apples, to compare things that are similar to each other in a basic or fundamental way.
Let’s compare apples to apples and look at the Professional package versus the Plus package.
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compare apples and / with / to oranges, to compare things that are fundamentally different from each other, usually used to suggest that the things cannot or should not be directly compared.
Comparing per pupil costs in public schools to tuition costs in private schools is comparing apples and oranges.
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compared to / with, considered in relation to; contrasted with.
The report investigated whether electric buses were cost-effective compared to traditional diesel buses.
Compared with other video editing software, our program offers many more features.
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compare and contrast. see compare and contrast.
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compare notes. note.
verb
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to regard or represent as analogous or similar; liken
the general has been compared to Napoleon
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to examine in order to observe resemblances or differences
to compare rum with gin
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to be of the same or similar quality or value
gin compares with rum in alcoholic content
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(intr) to bear a specified relation of quality or value when examined
this car compares badly with the other
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to correspond to
profits were £3.2 million. This compares with £2.6 million last year
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(tr) grammar to give the positive, comparative, and superlative forms of (an adjective)
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archaic (intr) to compete or vie
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to exchange opinions
noun
Usage
The traditional rule about which preposition to use after compare states that compare should be followed by to when it points out likenesses or similarities between two apparently dissimilar persons or things: She compared his handwriting to knotted string. Compare should be followed by with, the rule says, when it points out similarities or differences between two entities of the same general class: The critic compared the paintings in the exhibit with magazine photographs. This rule is by no means always observed, however, even in formal speech and writing. The usual practice is to employ to for likenesses between members of different classes: A language may be compared to a living organism. But when the comparison is between members of the same category, both to and with are used: The article compares the Chicago of today with (or to ) the Chicago of the 1890s. Following the past participle compared, either to or with is used regardless of whether differences or similarities are stressed or whether the things compared belong to the same or different classes: Compared with (or to ) the streets of 18th-century London, New York's streets are models of cleanliness and order.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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comparernoun
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intercompareverb (used with object)
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precompareverb (used with object)
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recompareverb (used with object)
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uncomparedadjective
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well-comparedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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comparesimple
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comparessimple
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have comparedperfect
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has comparedperfect
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am comparingprogressive
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are comparingprogressive
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is comparingprogressive
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have been comparingperfect progressive
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has been comparingperfect progressive
Past
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comparedsimple
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had comparedperfect
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was comparingprogressive
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were comparingprogressive
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had been comparingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compare
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English comparen, from Latin comparāre “to place together, match,” verb derivative of compar “alike, matching” ( see com-, par 1); replacing Middle English comperen, from Old French comperer, from Latin
Explanation
To compare is to look at two things and see how they are similar and different. People compare all the time. If you look at two products and compare prices, you're looking for the better bargain. It is hard to compare who was the better athlete, Michael Jordan or Billie Jean King, because they played different sports. At a museum, you can compare different paintings. If you like your math teacher better than your history teacher, you're comparing the two. If a TV shows is bad, you could say "it doesn't compare" to your favorite show.
Vocabulary lists containing compare
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Also compare your benefit with your spouse’s and consider how spousal and survivor benefits could affect your decision.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
The authorities' silence on the details - the specific charges, notably whether they involve intent and how the numbers compare with past seasons - rules out any meaningful comparison with previous years, it argues.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Villarreal: Not to compare the two professions, but does it make you see the work you do as an actor a form of public service?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Conditional logistic regression allowed them to compare changes within individual patients.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was a pity, too, as Mrs. Clarke’s gooseberry-pie recipe was beyond compare.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
This compares with 25.1 billion kroner in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He wrote on Substack that "nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the centre of it".
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Artificial Analysis, one of several groups that compares and ranks AI models, said Grok 4.6 scored five points higher on its “Intelligence Index” than Grok 4.5.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Although the data don’t show how household income compares to the cost of living, SmartAsset spokesperson Toby Nelson said the numbers can show how people’s income is holding up against rising costs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
I know what a brain looks like, and generally what each region of it does, but I don’t know how mine compares to others.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
A new analysis by Stanford University economists Nick Bloom and Gideon Moore compared current LinkedIn profiles to archived versions of such profiles that existed before 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
For example, 79.8% grades given to girls were marked A* to C, compared to 76.8% of boys' grades.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Monthly car payments have grown, averaging $785 a month in July on new cars, compared to $751 a year ago, according to Edmunds data.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Tunisia now has the lowest fertility rate in the Maghreb, with 1.58 children per woman in 2023 and an estimated 1.53 in 2024, compared with 1.97 in Morocco and 2.61 in Algeria.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Cocoa smells like perfume compared to the odor coming off her.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
But I get the sense that, in comparing Bourdain’s writing to the film, true die-hards will long for his quippy, evocative storytelling that’s absent from “Tony.”
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
"After 10 games, if we have got 10 points, 20 points, 30 points. People will be comparing it to Pep after 10 games, it doesn't put pressure on me," said Maresca.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
That means comparing your current financial situation to the one you want, which is harder because it requires knowing what you want your retirement to be.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
He asked them where they procured the redwood to renovate their shingle roof and the trio spent the rest of the morning excitedly discussing restoration techniques and comparing notes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
She’d gotten lost in thought comparing the two books.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
