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 compiled

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 compiled

Contemporary Examples of compiled

And so we compiled this list through conversations with colleagues and social media crowd-sourcing.
The Best Columns of 2014
John Avlon, Errol Louis
December 31, 2014
Our young and talented crew was compiled of friends and fellow classmates.
Nitehawk Shorts Festival: ‘Brute,’ a Twisted Take on Playing in the Dark
Julia Grinberg
November 28, 2014
I was just trying to get better before I compiled some audition.
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star
Kevin Fallon
October 31, 2014
All told, Warmuth said he has compiled a list of more than 1,000 appropriations, or “citations” as he calls them, in Chronicles.
Bob Dylan’s ‘Da Vinci Code’ Revealed
Chris Francescani
May 18, 2014
Goodwin, an associate professor at Nottingham University, has compiled the first comprehensive study on the rise of Ukip.
Is Britain’s Tea Party Turning Politics Upside Down?
Nico Hines
April 30, 2014

Historical Examples of compiled

The survey is wonderfully complete, and was compiled in a very short time.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
Together with his scholars he had compiled the book which bears his name.
The Chinese Fairy Book
Various
From that diary this story of our raids, expeditions, and fights is compiled.
Three Years in the Federal Cavalry
Willard Glazier
Does the form of prayer compiled by Juxon, Sanderson, and Hammond exist?
Notes and Queries, Number 81, May 17, 1851
Various
This Dictionary was compiled on the plan of Calmet, but left unfinished.
Notes and Queries, Number 67, February 8, 1851
Various

British Dictionary definitions for compiled

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 compiled

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.