compartment

[ kuhm-pahrt-muhnt ]

/ kəmˈpɑrt mənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compartment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a part or space marked or partitioned off.

a separate room, section, etc.: a baggage compartment.

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

a separate aspect, function, or the like: the compartments of the human mind.

Architecture. a distinct major division of a design.

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

verb (used with object)

to divide into compartments.

Nearby words

comparison test, comparison-shop, comparsa, compart, compartimento, compartment, compartmental, compartmentalize, compartmentation, compass, compass card

Origin of compartment

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

SYNONYMS FOR compartment

1 division, section.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compartment ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Examples from the Web for compartment

The EFPs were hidden in a compartment under an unassuming-looking house.
How the NSA Became a Killing Machine|Shane Harris|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ogorzow had to remember where it was at the Hirschgarten station and keep an eye out on the doors on that side of the compartment.
A Serial Killer on the Loose in Nazi Berlin|Scott Andrew Selby|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After this attack, Ogorzow left his weapon behind on the train, hiding it in the compartment.
A Serial Killer on the Loose in Nazi Berlin|Scott Andrew Selby|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ogorzow turned his back on Bendorf and opened the compartment door.
A Serial Killer on the Loose in Nazi Berlin|Scott Andrew Selby|January 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The other women may have attempted to squeeze through the small window into the driver's compartment, but it was too late.
Still No Explanation for Horrific Limo Fire|Christine Pelisek|May 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In his opinion the House could no longer keep itself in a compartment apart—especially as it was not a watertight compartment.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 152, March 7, 1917.|Various
They begin with an historical picture, its landscape and buildings, in one compartment.
A Treatise on Painting|Leonardo Da Vinci
The contents of this compartment are thereby discharged through the shoot C into the generating tank B.
Acetylene, The Principles Of Its Generation And Use|F. H. Leeds
He kneeled down plump on the floor of that compartment and took her in his arms and kissed her.
Jan and Her Job|L. Allen Harker
In a few moments, however, he returns, and takes a middle seat in the compartment.
Sharps and Flats|John Nevil Maskelyne

British Dictionary definitions for compartment

compartment

/ (kəmˈpɑːtmənt) /

noun

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

any separate part or sectiona compartment of the mind

a small storage space; locker

Derived Forms

compartmental (ˌkɒmpɑːtˈmɛntəl), adjectivecompartmentally, adverb

Word Origin for compartment

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

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