compass
Americannoun
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compasses
plural
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an instrument for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north.
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the enclosing line or limits of any area; perimeter.
You can find anything you want downtown within the compass of ten square blocks.
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space within limits; area; extent; range; scope: the broad compass of the novel.
the narrow compass of the strait;
the broad compass of the novel.
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Also called range. the total range of tones of a voice or of a musical instrument.
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due or proper limits; moderate bounds.
Their behavior stayed within the compass of propriety.
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a passing round; circuit.
the compass of a year.
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Often compasses an instrument for drawing or describing circles, measuring distances, etc., consisting generally of two movable, rigid legs hinged to each other at one end (usually used withpair of ).
to spread the legs of a compass and draw a larger circle.
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Astronomy.
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Also called Mariner's Compass. Compass. the constellation Pyxis.
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Compasses, the constellation Circinus.
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adjective
verb (used with object)
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compasses,
present (3rd person singular)
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compassed,
past participle, past
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compassing
present participle
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to go or move round; make the circuit of.
It would take a week to compass his property on foot.
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to extend or stretch around; hem in; surround; encircle.
An old stone wall compasses their property.
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to attain or achieve; accomplish; obtain.
To have compassed this task in the limited time available is no mean achievement.
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to compass a treacherous plan.
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to make curved or circular.
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to comprehend; to grasp, as with the mind.
His mind could not compass the extent of the disaster.
noun
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an instrument for finding direction, usually having a magnetized needle which points to magnetic north swinging freely on a pivot
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Also called: pair of compasses. (often plural) an instrument used for drawing circles, measuring distances, etc, that consists of two arms, joined at one end, one arm of which serves as a pivot or stationary reference point, while the other is extended or describes a circle
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limits or range
within the compass of education
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music the interval between the lowest and highest note attainable by a voice or musical instrument
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archaic a circular course
verb
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to encircle or surround; hem in
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to comprehend or grasp mentally
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to achieve; attain; accomplish
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obsolete to plot
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A device used to determine geographical direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle mounted on a pivot, aligning itself naturally with the Earth's magnetic field so that it points to the Earth's geomagnetic north or south pole.
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A device used for drawing circles and arcs and for measuring distances on maps, consisting of two legs hinged together at one end.
Synonym Usage
See range.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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outcompassverb (used with object)
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precompassverb (used with object)
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compassableadjective
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compasslessadjective
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uncompassableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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compasssimple
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compassessimple
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have compassedperfect
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has compassedperfect
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am compassingprogressive
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are compassingprogressive
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is compassingprogressive
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have been compassingperfect progressive
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has been compassingperfect progressive
Past
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compassedsimple
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had compassedperfect
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was compassingprogressive
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were compassingprogressive
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had been compassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compass
First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English compassen, from Old French compasser “to measure,” from unattested Vulgar Latin compāssāre, equivalent to compāss(us), “equal step” ( Latin com- com- + pāssus pace 1 ) + -āre verb suffix; (noun) Middle English compas, from Old French, derivative of compasser
Explanation
Long before we had GPS (Global Positioning System) devices, people used a magnetic instrument called a compass for navigation. Some people still use a compass to navigate — usually when their GPS isn’t working. Compass can also refer to another type of instrument, one that’s used for drawing circles; this should be familiar to you if you have ever studied geometry. In addition, compass can mean "range" or "scope." If you decide to hike the Appalachian Trail, using a compass (the navigational kind) should hopefully fall within your compass of ability. If not, we hope you own a reliable GPS.
Vocabulary lists containing compass
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Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941)
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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:
Skye MRT said walkers should be wary of technology failing and be able to use a map and compass.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Despite her national profile, there remains a nagging suspicion that she lacks an internal compass and the courage of her convictions.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Walking in these diagonal directions, as well as 5 feet in the straight compass directions, shows that many pairs of dots on this giant chessboard are exactly 5 feet apart.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026
In 2023, Chinese activist Kwon Pyong, who is an ethnic Korean, fled to South Korea on a jet ski, carrying binoculars and a compass.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
A knife, rope, PowerBars, water bottle, compass, first aid kit, a topographical map, my sketchpad, a hardcover novel, and a book Leo gave me on topography.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
"Haematite is widespread. Centuries ago, it was already used for compasses in seafaring," explains Bossini.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025
Guided by phosphorescent compasses strapped to their wrists, the divers reached the ship in just a few minutes.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
But something more nuanced emerges regarding our internal compasses in filmmaker Levan Akin’s “Crossing,” about a retired Georgian schoolteacher trying to track down her transgender niece in Istanbul.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024
Dr. Sharvit speculated that, lacking compasses, astrolabes or sextants, seafarers in the 14th century B.C. probably relied on celestial navigation, taking sightings and angles of the sun and star positions.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
Any diminution in magnetism is likely to be bad news, because magnetism, apart from holding notes to refrigerators and keeping our compasses pointing the right way, plays a vital role in keeping us alive.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
“Wild Swans” would seem to have laid bare every cruel irony of the volatile times it compassed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026
The "great tracts of land" he imagines "compassed about with heavens fair" are not necessarily those of Eden.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 20, 2010
These aims, it was judged, could be compassed in two years and the New York Board of Regents had been persuaded to issue an irregular* charter, for the first "junior college" in the state.
From Time Magazine Archive
He compassed a great coup with 317 second-hand bath-tubs, became a wholesale bargain man with a Long Island City warehouse, and his slogan was known to all the city: "Fippany for Any Old Thing".
From Time Magazine Archive
"However," it is said, "where all cannot be compassed, much may be accomplished; but I must not, in fairness, conceal from you that you have much to do."
From The Gentle Reader by Samuel McChord Crothers
They toiled upward with stubborn determination, and wasted breath in voluble commination of the length of the way, when they could have employed it more usefully in compassing it.
From White Fire by John Oxenham
Her soul was now addressed to the achievement of some plan of co-operation with the republican chief, and she succeeded where wiser persons must have failed in compassing the desirable facilities.
From Graham's Magazine Vol XXXIII No. 2 August 1848 by Various
Never be guilty of leaving the spoon in the cup and compassing it with one or more fingers in carrying it to the lips.
From Social Life or, The Manners and Customs of Polite Society by Maud C. Cooke
And they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified, and horsemen compassing it round about; and these were expert in war.
From The Bible Story by Newton Marshall Hall
A small band or fillet; any little band or flat molding, compassing a column, like a ring.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster
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.
