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Webster 1913 Edition

Compact

Com-pact′

(kŏm-păkt′)
,
p.
p.
&
Adj.
[L.
compactus
, p. p. of
compingere
to join or unite;
com-
+
pangere
to fasten, fix: cf. F.
compacte
. See
Pact
.]
1.
Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.
[Obs.]
“Compact with her that’s gone.”
Shak.
A pipe of seven reeds,
compact
with wax together.
Peacham.
2.
Composed or made; – with of.
[Poetic]
A wandering fire,
Compact
of unctuous vapor.
Milton.
3.
Closely or firmly united, as the particles of solid bodies; firm; close; solid; dense.
Glass, crystal, gems, and other
compact
bodies.
Sir I. Newton.
Syn. – Firm; close; solid; dense; pithy; sententious.

Com-pact′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Compacted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Compacting
.]
1.
To thrust, drive, or press closely together; to join firmly; to consolidate; to make close; – as the parts which compose a body.
Now the bright sun
compacts
the precious stone.
Blackstone.
2.
To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
The whole body fitly joined together and
compacted
by that which every joint supplieth.
Eph. iv. 16.

Com′pact

(kŏm′păkt)
,
Noun.
[L.
compactum
, fr.
compacisci
, p. p.
compactus
, to make an agreement with;
com-
+
pacisci
to make an agreement. See
Pact
.]
An agreement between parties; a covenant or contract.
The law of nations depends on mutual
compacts
, treaties, leagues, etc.
Blackstone.
Wedlock is described as the indissoluble
compact
.
Macaulay.
Syn. – See
Covenant
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Compact

COMPACT

, a.
1.
Closely and firmly united, as the particles of solid bodies; firm; close; solid; dense. Stone, iron and wood are compact bodies. A compact leaf, in botany, is one having the pulp of a close firm texture.
2.
Composed; consisting.
A wandering fire,
Compact of unctuous vapor.
3.
Joined; held together.
A pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together.
4.
Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose; as a compact discourse.

COMPACT

,
Noun.
An agreement; a contract between parties; a word that may be applied, in a general sense, to any covenant or contract between individuals; but it is more generally applied to agreements between nations and states, as treaties and confederacies. So the constitution of the United States is a political contract between the States; a national compact. Or the word is applied to the agreement of the individuals of a community.
The law of nations depends on mutual compacts, treaties, leagues, &c.
In the beginnings of speech there was an implicit compact, founded on common consent.

COMPACT

, v.t.
1.
To thrust, drive or press closely together; to join firmly; to consolidate; to make close; as the parts which compose a body.
Now the bright sun compacts the precious stone.
2.
To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
The whole body fitly joined together and compacted. Eph. 4.
3.
To league with.
Thou pernicious woman,
Compact with her thats gone.
4.
To compose or make out of.
If he, compact of jars, grow musical.
In the two last examples, compact is used for compacted.

Definition 2024

compact

compact

English

Noun

compact ‎(plural compacts)

  1. An agreement or contract.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle French, from Latin compāctus, perfect passive participle of compingō ‎(“join together”), from com- ‎(“together”) + pangō ‎(“fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *pag- ‎(“to fasten”).

Adjective

compact ‎(comparative more compact, superlative most compact)

  1. Closely packed, i.e. packing much in a small space.
    • Isaac Newton
      glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies
  2. Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
    a compact laptop computer
  3. (mathematics, not comparable, of a set in an Euclidean space) Closed and bounded.
    A set S of real numbers is called compact if every sequence in S has a subsequence that converges to an element again contained in S.
  4. (topology, not comparable, of a set) Such that every open cover of the given set has a finite subcover.
  5. Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose.
    a compact discourse
  6. (obsolete) Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.
    • Shakespeare
      compact with her that's gone
    • Peacham
      a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together
  7. (obsolete) Composed or made; with of.
    • Milton
      A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapour.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

Vintage black enamel compact, c. 1960s

compact ‎(plural compacts)

  1. A small, slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powderpuff; that fits into a woman's purse or handbag, or that slips into ones pocket.
  2. A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
    • 2012, BBC News: Dundee Courier makes move to compact :
      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.
Translations

See also

Verb

compact ‎(third-person singular simple present compacts, present participle compacting, simple past and past participle compacted)

  1. (transitive) To make more dense; to compress.
    • 2014 August 24, Jeff Howell, “Home improvements: gravel paths and cutting heating bills [print version: Cold comfort in technology, 23 August 2014, p. P5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property):
      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.
    • Bible, Eph. iv. 16
      The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.
Synonyms
Translations

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

compact ‎(comparative compacter, superlative compactst)

  1. compact (closely packed), dense
  2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Inflection

Inflection of compact
uninflected compact
inflected compacte
comparative compacter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial compact compacter het compactst
het compactste
indefinite m./f. sing. compacte compactere compactste
n. sing. compact compacter compactste
plural compacte compactere compactste
definite compacte compactere compactste
partitive compacts compacters —

French

Adjective

compact m ‎(feminine singular compacte, masculine plural compacts, feminine plural compactes)

  1. compact (closely packed), dense
  2. compact (having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space)

Noun

compact m ‎(plural compacts)

  1. compact disc
  2. music center (US), music centre (UK)
  3. compact camera

Synonyms

Etymology

From Latin compactum ‎(“agreement”).

Pronunciation

  • Noun:
    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkɒmˌpækt/
    • (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɑmˌpækt/
  • Adjective:
    • (UK) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/
    • (US) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/, /ˈkɑmˌpækt/
  • Verb:
    • (US, UK) IPA(key): /kəmˈpækt/

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