compartment

American  

[kuhm-pahrt-muhnt] / kəmˈpɑrt mənt /

noun

compartments plural

1. a part or space marked or partitioned off.

   Synonyms:

   section, division

2. a separate room, section, etc..

   a baggage compartment.

3. U.S. Railroads. a private bedroom with toilet facilities.

4. a separate aspect, function, or the like.

   the compartments of the human mind.

5. Architecture. a distinct major division of a design.

6. Heraldry. a decorative base, as a grassy mound, on which the supporters of an escutcheon stand or rest.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to divide into compartments.

compartment British  

/ kəmˈpɑːtmənt, ˌkɒmpɑːtˈmɛntəl /

noun

1. one of the sections into which an area, esp an enclosed space, is divided or partitioned

2. any separate part or section

   a compartment of the mind

3. a small storage space; locker

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• compartmental
  adjective
• compartmentally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• compartments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of compartment

1555–65; < Middle French compartiment < Italian compartimento. See compart, -ment

Explanation

A compartment is a space within another space, like the glove compartment in a car. Compartments are spaces, but they're not spaces that stand on their own. Rather, compartments are part of other spaces: they're subdivisions. The trunk is a compartment of a car. A pocket is a compartment of a suitcase. Closets are like compartments of rooms. One of the most common compartments is a car's glove compartment, where people throw all kinds of things. Anything that is divided into smaller spaces has compartments. The ventricles are like compartments of your heart.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

compartment compartments

The weathered thread compartment holds two toy horses with armed riders in red coats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Papers destined to be read in 250 years are stored in a separate compartment inside the cylinder and sealed, while the other objects were placed in cardboard boxes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

In October, video was widely shared of flames belching from the overhead storage compartment of an Air China flight, reportedly caused by a lithium battery.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026

Before long, crack Swanson engineers added a fourth compartment to the aluminum trays, for dessert.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

“The cannibal book, too. I followed my nose and the scent of the sea, all the way inside Quinzawoo’s room, under his bed, and into the secret compartment of his hidden suitcase. Easy!”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Three interconnected catwalks stretch into the audience, carving the space into small compartments.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

A lot of Arasheben’s rings have James Bond elements such as secret compartments or special elements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

Take, for example, the viral “snackle box,” which contains multiple compartments to hold everything from your favorite packaged snacks and candies to cut up fruit and vegetables.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

These frozen meals were arranged in heat-and-serve aluminum trays with three compartments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026

My oldest sister and her husband were shoved into one of those sixteen-by-twenty-foot compartments with six people they had never seen before—two other couples, one recently married like themselves, the other with two teenage boys.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Related Words

• alcove
• carriage
• cell
• chamber
• cubicle
• locker
• slot