compact — English Dictionary

Noun

1. An agreement or contract.

   Synonyms

   agreementcontractpacttreaty

   Examples

   More examples (3)

   President Biden laid out an ambitious agenda on Wednesday night to rewrite the American social compact by vastly expanding family leave, child care, health care, preschool and college education for millions of people to be financed with increased taxes on the wealthiest earners.

   After taking over this month as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan coalition of city mayors, he urged members to sign a “crypto compact” calling on the federal government to eschew overly aggressive regulation of the industry.

   Countering this in international media by offering more balanced views for a global audience is near impossible as censorship is rife. There almost seems to be a global compact to control the narrative, a propaganda war powered by today’s digital technology.

Verb

1. To form an agreement or contract.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Examples

   In return for the sovereign's protection, they compacted to police the content of public literature.

Adjective

1. Agreed, contracted.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • not-comparable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   O Gorice XI., most glorious King of Witchland, and O Lord Goldry Bluszco, captain of the hosts of Demonland, it is compact betwixt you, and made fast by mighty oaths whereof I, the Red Foliot, am keeper, that ye shall wrastle three falls together on these conditions, […]

Adjective

1. Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.

   Synonyms

   concentratedcrowdeddenseserried

   Examples

   glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies

2. Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.

   Examples

   a compact laptop computer

3. Brief and pithy; not verbose.

   Usage

   • of prose

   Examples

   a compact discourse

4. Of a topological space: Such that every open cover has a finite subcover. In a metric space, this is equivalent to being sequentially compact. In metric spaces with the Heine-Borel property, this is equivalent to being closed and bounded.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Synonyms

   quasi-compact

5. Of a topological space: Compact in the above sense and moreover Hausdorff.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

6. Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Examples

   Thou fooliſh Frier, and thou pernicious woman / Compact with her that's gone:

   a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together

7. Composed or made; with of.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Examples

   A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapor.

Noun

1. A slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powder puff, small enough to fit in a woman's purse, handbag, or pocket.

   Synonyms

   powder box

2. An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.

3. A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   The Dundee Courier has announced the newspaper will be relaunching as a compact later this week. Editor Richard Neville said a "brighter, bolder" paper would appear from Saturday, shrunk from broadsheet to tabloid size.

Verb

1. To make more dense; to compress.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

   You need to excavate and remove the topsoil, line the subsoil with a geotextile, then lay and compact hardcore.

2. To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.

   Examples

   The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.

Adjective

1. closely and firmly united or packed together

   Antonyms

   loose

   Examples

   compact soil

   compact clusters of flowers

2. having a short and solid form or stature

   Synonyms

   heavysetstockythickthickset

   Examples

   a wrestler of compact build

   he was tall and heavyset

   More examples (2)

   stocky legs

   a thickset young man

3. briefly giving the gist of something

   Synonyms

   compendioussuccinctsummary

   Examples

   a short and compendious book

   a compact style is brief and pithy

   More examples (2)

   succinct comparisons

   a summary formulation of a wide-ranging subject

Noun

1. a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse

   Synonyms

   powder compact

   Broader terms

   case

2. a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action

   Synonyms

   covenantconcordat

   Broader terms

   written agreement

3. a small and economical car

   Synonyms

   compact car

   Broader terms

   carautoautomobilemachinemotorcar

Verb

1. have the property of being packable or of compacting easily

   Synonyms

   pack

   Broader terms

   be

   Examples

   This powder compacts easily

   Such odd-shaped items do not pack well

2. compress into a wad

   Synonyms

   packbundlewad

   Broader terms

   arrangeset up

   Examples

   wad paper into the box

3. make more compact by or as if by pressing

   Synonyms

   compresspack together

   Broader terms

   wedgesqueezeforce

   Examples

   compress the data

4. squeeze or press together

   Synonyms

   compressconstrictsqueezecontractpress

   Broader terms

   tighten

   Examples

   she compressed her lips

   the spasm contracted the muscle