compartment
[kuh m-pahrt-muh nt]
- 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.
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- to divide into compartments.
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Origin of compartment
Synonyms
See more synonyms for compartment on Thesaurus.com1. division, section.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for compartment
Contemporary Examples
The EFPs were hidden in a compartment under an unassuming-looking house.
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.
After this attack, Ogorzow left his weapon behind on the train, hiding it in the compartment.
Ogorzow turned his back on Bendorf and opened the compartment door.
The other women may have attempted to squeeze through the small window into the driver's compartment, but it was too late.
Historical Examples
A jolly tanner observes: "I'll get a compartment to oursels."
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
My sharing his compartment had evidently produced an unpleasant impression.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
The brother had the compartment next to that woman, with the big dog.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
The Ring Master now passed, raised his hat and entered his compartment.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
Then Ossipon came back, saying: “I told him not to let anybody get into our compartment.”
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
compartment
- 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
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for compartment
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper