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)
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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:
“When I looked at reclassified students from one district to another, I couldn’t compare apples to apples,” said Manuel Buenrostro, policy director at Californians Together, an advocacy group that co-sponsored the bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
That allowed scientists to study naturally occurring cancers from a large number of cats and compare the genetic patterns among different tumor types.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
As consumers compare prices and look for deals, manufacturers may have less room to raise prices without losing sales.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
"I know it's not a title fight but it's two former heavyweight champions. It's a fair price when you compare it to other major sporting events such as the football World Cup," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Over tea, we’d compare notes and be unsurprised by all the ways we are different.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
That compares with its long-term average of about 19.4 since 1990, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
That compares with a profit of $1.2 billion, or $2.22 a share, in last year’s comparable period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The AI analyzes known Hamas agents’ phones for patterns in their cellular signals and compares them to hundreds of thousands of others in Gaza.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
Huang compares the effect to looking at the night sky.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
After I read the poem that compares the woman’s hands to flowers and rain, I put the book down and went to the window.
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
Blackledge initiated coverage on SpaceX’s stock with a buy rating and a $200 price target, implying room for a 37% increase compared to Monday’s closing price.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
Many of the current disputes between Europe and the U.S. are minor compared with this agreement’s size and benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
More than 18,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year compared to more than 32,000 than the same period in 2025.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The compound also limited enlargement of heart muscle cells compared with controls, helping the cells maintain more normal function.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Nature is big. It’s powerful. It seems like we’re nothing compared to it, that there’s no way we could change it,” Akira said.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
To recreate the extinct antimicrobial peptide, Sil began by comparing lactoferrin gene sequences from living species such as humans and cows.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
When his phone screen cracked, he spent a week on Amazon comparing six or seven replacements and adding them to his basket.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
But in February, Graham finally managed to get Trump over the line, appealing to his vanity by shamelessly comparing him to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
With a vibrant social scene and plenty of recreation, it provides a realistic baseline for comparing the financial advantages of living and working abroad.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
It fell out as Wemmick had told me it would, that I had an early opportunity of comparing my guardian’s establishment with that of his cashier and clerk.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
