pair of compasses
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of pair of compasses
First recorded in 1545–55
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.
To compare a pair of compasses to the souls of lovers, however, would be wordy trickery too far.
From Nature • Aug. 28, 2013
To trace the life circle which began and ended at Huatabampo would strain an epic pair of compasses.
From Time Magazine Archive
“I knows him!” and, after a few convulsive efforts, the red legs took the shape of a pair of compasses, and the intelligent pupil triumphantly shouted, “It’s a We, Dranpa, it’s a We!”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Let him take a map and a pair of compasses, he will find it but a span; and in reality it is less—with a universe around it.
From Corse de Leon, Volume I (of 2) or, The Brigand; a Romance by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)
"I knows him!" and, after a few convulsive efforts, the red legs took the shape of a pair of compasses, and the intelligent pupil triumphantly shouted, "It's a We, dranpa, it's a We!"
From Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Alcott, Louisa May
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.
