compile

American  

[kuhm-pahyl] / kəmˈpaɪl /

verb (used with object)

compiles, present (3rd person singular) compiled, past participle, past compiling present participle

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

2. 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.

3. to gather together.

   to compile data.

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

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compile British  

/ kəmˈpaɪl /

verb

1. to make or compose from other materials or sources

   to compile a list of names

2. to collect or gather for a book, hobby, etc

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• recompile
  verb (used with object)
• precompile
  verb (used with object)
• uncompiled
  adjective
• well-compiled
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have compiled
  perfect
• has compiled
  perfect 3rd person singular
• am compiling
  progressive 1st person singular
• have been compiling
  perfect progressive
• are compiling
  progressive
• is compiling
  progressive 3rd person singular
• compiles
  singular 3rd person
• has been compiling
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• compiling
  participle

Past

• had compiled
  perfect
• compiled
  simple
• compiled
  participle
• had been compiling
  perfect progressive
• were compiling
  progressive plural
• was compiling
  progressive singular

Future

• will compile
  simple
• will have compiled
  perfect
• will have been compiling
  perfect progressive
• will be compiling
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of compile

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin compīlāre “to rob, pillage, steal from another writer,” equivalent to com- “with” + -pīlāre, perhaps akin to pīla “column, pier,” pīlāre “to fix firmly, plant” (hence, “pile up, accumulate”); see com-, pile ¹

Explanation

When you compile something, like a recipe-book or a mix-tape, you put it together using things that already exist (recipes, songs). Poetry anthologies, greatest-hits albums, and world-record books are all compilations, because they're made up of things that were originally published or released somewhere else. If you want to skip out on soccer practice one day, you might compile of list of excuses.

Example Sentences

The UN mission urged Afghan authorities to "compile a record of the missing" from the hospital strike to help their relatives find answers about their fate.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

Before you get to that stage, however, club owners and chairmen will rely on their sporting director and chief executive to compile a list of names.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

He also built an AI tool to attempt to compile the tariff bill for his Cleveland, Ohio-based sneaker-care product company, Proof Culture.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

In Pakula’s “All the President’s Men,” The Washington Post newsroom functions almost like a secret lair, a place where the good guys can hide out and compile their facts.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

At the end of the year the computer would be used to help compile a rather remarkable eighty-two-page document containing a detailed examination of each of the team’s 747 defensive plays.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger

Related Words

• amass
• arrange
• assemble
• collect
• compose
• cull
• edit
• gather
• glean
• organize