compile
Americanverb (used with object)
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to put together (documents, selections, or other materials) in one book or work.
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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.
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to gather together.
to compile data.
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Computers. to translate (a computer program) from a high-level language into another language, usually machine language, using a compiler.
verb
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to make or compose from other materials or sources
to compile a list of names
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to collect or gather for a book, hobby, etc
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computing to create (a set of machine instructions) from a high-level programming language, using a compiler
Other Word Forms
- precompile verb (used with object)
- recompile verb (used with object)
- uncompiled adjective
- well-compiled adjective
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”); com-, pile 1
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.
By using numbers rather than names when we compile our diary, I think they’ll feel more comfortable and it will probably be safer for all of us.
From Literature
He meant, he said, to compile a book of the best ones.
From Literature
Bobby, dog tag entwined, managed to compile an even score, with two wins, two losses, and six draws, fretting afterward that “I didn’t do too well.”
From Literature
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 Literature
After I clean my room, I continue to compile my enormous list of questions for the Socrates Project.
From Literature
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.
