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
-
has comportedperfect
-
am comportingprogressive
-
are comportingprogressive
-
is comportingprogressive
-
have been comportingperfect progressive
-
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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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
The first task is to reorient the underlying assumptions informing American foreign policy to comport with reality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Reed next tried to convince federal courts that construing the statute that way did not comport with the fundamental fairness required by the 14th Amendment’s due process clause.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
"They were very much Team Mick and I think they were coming at it from the generational side, where it was like, 'That is not the way that you comport yourself, and it's disrespectful.'"
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
Over the next few days, every time I see her Mrs. Murphy has another suggestion for how I should comport myself on meeting the Nielsens.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
Their thesis certainly comports with recent market action.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
This comports with the star’s understanding of how the world works based on the wealth she’s spun out of industrialized fame.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
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
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
On Saturday, Harry comported himself gracefully and gave the British tabloids, forever in search of more outrage fuel, little to complain about.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 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
Participants relive the drama, compare notes on which teammates comported themselves with particular valor and lament perceived cheap shots from their foe.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 27, 2022
The young women in her circle comported themselves in a foreign ritual, undecipherable.
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
But I wonder how our foolish aunt, and equally foolish cousin, are comporting themselves under the changed circumstances?”
From No Quarter! by Mayne Reid
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
