comport
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
comports,
present (3rd person singular)
-
comported,
past participle, past
-
comporting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
comports,
present (3rd person singular)
-
comported,
past participle, past
-
comporting
present participle
noun
noun
verb
-
(tr) to conduct or bear (oneself) in a specified way
-
to agree (with); correspond (to)
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
comportsimple
-
comportssimple
-
have comportedperfect
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has comportedperfect
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am comportingprogressive
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are comportingprogressive
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is comportingprogressive
-
have been comportingperfect progressive
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has been comportingperfect progressive
Past
-
comportedsimple
-
had comportedperfect
-
was comportingprogressive
-
were comportingprogressive
-
had been comportingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of comport1
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French comporter < Latin comportāre to transport, equivalent to com- com- + portāre to port 5
Origin of comport2
1765–75; alteration of French compotier a dish for compote; see -ier 2
Explanation
Comport means to behave, and particularly to behave well. If you attend a school for social etiquette, you will learn how to comport yourself properly at the dinner table. You’ll usually find comport in one of two phrases: with yourself, himself, etc., as in, "With all that burping, you did not comport yourself well at Aunt Edna’s party," or with the word with. When you see the second version, comport means something more like agree. For example, you could say, "I don’t think your ripped jeans and beat up t-shirt really comport with the guidelines for Casual Friday."
Vocabulary lists containing comport
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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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.
See Examples For:
Through his cellmate, Gershkovich learned the rules of Russian prison life, including how to perform various bodily functions in the cramped cell and how to comport himself with other inmates to stay safe.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Food makers have long tweaked their recipes and rolled out new products to comport with changing government regulations and consumer preferences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
The Supreme Court in its opinion said, " The lower courts shall move expeditiously to ensure that, with respect to each plaintiff, the injunctions comport with this rule and otherwise comply with principles of equity."
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
But he urged the lower courts to “carefully consider whether the existing standards comport with the Constitution.”
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2025
“And you, E’lir Kvothe, will comport yourself with more decorum in the future.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Their thesis certainly comports with recent market action.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
But this only comports with the science as we’ve known it for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
He said the plaintiffs were “seeking a limited and measured remedy ... the minimum that comports with due process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2025
That comports with a government report earlier this week showing that U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March of 2021.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
She nods; what I’ve just said, for whatever reason, comports with what she knows of her son.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Biggs opened the door for a trial when the state Supreme Court determined the photo ID law comported with the state constitution.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2024
Caryl Carota, 81, said she thought four or five of the women comported themselves well and seemed to have caught the eye of the bachelor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
Professor Davison discovered, however, that the equation was a misprint and that what Orwell originally wrote was “2 + 2 = 5,” which comported with Big Brother’s Newspeak.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2022
With a place in Sunday’s final at stake, Kyrgios comported himself well against Ymer.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 6, 2022
Old Abraham, who was not old at all but who had comported himself in the manner of an elderly misanthrope since he first learned to sit up.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Scott and Goba did a fine job of pushing back at the most ridiculous lies, generally comporting themselves and the profession well.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2024
“I’m a practicing Catholic, and it is the biggest dilemma for me in terms of comporting my religious and cultural views with my political responsibility,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in April 2007.
From Washington Post ● May 3, 2022
So it is like, “Well, are you a court? Because this sounds a lot like a court but you’re not exactly comporting yourself as a court.”
From The Verge ● May 11, 2021
Even if she doesn’t agree with them, she’s comporting with them.
From Slate ● Apr. 22, 2021
In a word, in comporting to the standard a dog is produced that possesses a harmonious whole, “a thing of beauty” and a joy as long as he lives.
From The Boston Terrier and All About It A Practical, Scientific, and Up to Date Guide to the Breeding of the American Dog by Edward Axtell
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.
