compose
verb (used with object)
to make or form by combining things, parts, or elements.
were composing
-
past progressiveof compose.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
He’d been a more than congenial host, showing this writer around the cavernous space where a group of what looked like teenagers with laptops were composing the landscapes of the film’s fictional world Pandora.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
In the chat, meanwhile, others were composing a letter:
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2022
The times in which these two wonderful artists were composing were very different.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2021
When we graphed quadratic functions using translations, we were composing functions.
From Textbooks ● May 6, 2020
Do you know," confessed Mr. Basket, as he and the Doctor walked homewards, "I felt all the while as if we were composing our friend's epitaph.
From The Mayor of Troy by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
