compile

[kuh m-pahyl]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compile ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·piled, com·pil·ing.

to put together (documents, selections, or other materials) in one book or work.

to make (a book, writing, or the like) of materials from various sources: to compile an anthology of plays; to compile a graph showing changes in profit.

to gather together: to compile data.

Computers. to translate (a computer program) from a high-level language into another language, usually machine language, using a compiler.

Origin of compile

1275–1325; Middle English < Latin compīlāre to rob, pillage, steal from another writer, equivalent to com- com- + -pīlāre, perhaps akin to pīla column, pier, pile¹, pīlāre to fix firmly, plant (hence, pile up, accumulate)

Related formspre·com·pile, verb (used with object), pre·com·piled, pre·com·pil·ing.re·com·pile, verb (used with object), re·com·piled, re·com·pil·ing.un·com·piled, adjectivewell-com·piled, adjective

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

Related Words for compile

cull, amass, organize, edit, glean, gather, collect, compose, assemble, arrange, consolidate, group, muster, abridge, unite, recapitulate, concentrate, collate, congregate, garner

Examples from the Web for compile

Contemporary Examples of compile

Winnowing down countless artifacts to compile A History of New York in 101 Objects was challenging enough.
We All Have a Rosebud in Our Pasts
Sam Roberts
October 15, 2014
One spokesperson even worked late into the night to compile statistics related to Peace Corps safety.
The Peace Corps' Awful Secret
Tim Mak
August 16, 2014
We would before Christmas compile a thick book of readings for him.
Clinton, Bush, and Obama Speechwriters on How They Made the State of the Union Address
Chris Riback
January 27, 2014
But I'm willing to bet that when I compile my Top Ten list next December, True Detective will still reign supreme.
‘True Detective’ Review: You Have to Watch HBO’s Revolutionary Crime Classic
Andrew Romano
January 11, 2014
If I was Gchatting with Chinese dissidents, the state could compile evidence for a political trial.
Were the Chinese the ‘State-Sponsored Attackers’ Trying to Hack Me?
Eli Lake
February 20, 2013

Historical Examples of compile

Then I compile a list of the books that I intend to read, and the order in which they should be read.
The Book-Hunter at Home
P. B. M. Allan
We compile this month mainly from the London World of Fashion.
The International Monthly, Volume 2, No. 4, March, 1851
Various
From this table the officers work the ship's way, and compile their journals.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
He did not write according to copy, nor compile from commonplace books.
Ernest Maltravers, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
They, however, compile statistics from data which we furnish.
Letters from an Old Railway Official
Charles DeLano Hine

British Dictionary definitions for compile

compile

verb (tr)

to make or compose from other materials or sourcesto compile a list of names

to collect or gather for a book, hobby, etc

computing to create (a set of machine instructions) from a high-level programming language, using a compiler

Word Origin for compile

C14: from Latin compīlāre to pile together, plunder, from com- together + pīlāre to thrust down, pack

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 compile

early 14c., from Old French compiler "compile, collect" (13c.), from Latin compilare "to plunder, rob," probably originally "bundle together, heap up;" hence "to pack up and carry off," from com- "together" (see com-) + pilare "to compress, ram down." Related: Compiled; compiling.