compact

English

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/

Etymology 1

From Latin compactum (“agreement”).

Noun

compact (plural compacts)

1. An agreement or contract.

Synonyms

• agreement, contract, pact, treaty

Translations

agreement or contract

• Bulgarian: договор (bg) m (dogovor), споразумение (bg) n (sporazumenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 协议 (zh)

• German: Pakt (de) m, Kontrakt (de) m
• Greek: σύμβαση (el) f (sýmvasi), συμφωνία (el) f (symfonía), συμβόλαιο (el) n (symvólaio)

• Irish: acht (ga) m
• Portuguese: acordo (pt) m, contrato (pt) m, pacto (pt) m
• Russian: пакт (ru) m (pakt), сде́лка (ru) f (sdélka), догово́р (ru) m (dogovór)
• Spanish: acuerdo (es) m

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

• (closely packed): concentrated, dense, serried, solid, thick, tight

Derived terms

• compact disc
• locally compact

Translations

closely packed

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} сбит (bg) (sbit), ^{(please verify)} плътен (bg) (plǎten)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紧凑 (zh), 緊湊 (zh)

• Czech: kompaktní
• Dutch: compact (nl)
• Finnish: tiivis (fi), kompakti
• French: compact (fr)
• Greek: συμπαγής (el) m (sympagís), πυκνός (el) m (pyknós)
• Hebrew: דחוס‎ (dakhús)

• Hungarian: kompakt (hu)
• Irish: dlúth
• Italian: compatto (it)
• Maori: raungaiti, kiato
• Portuguese: compacto (pt)
• Romanian: compact (ro) m, n
• Russian: компа́ктный (ru) (kompáktnyj), пло́тный (ru) (plótnyj)
• Spanish: compacto (es)

having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space

• Bulgarian: компактен (bg) (kompakten)
• Dutch: compact (nl)
• Finnish: kompakti
• French: compact (fr)
• Greek: περιεκτικός (el) m (periektikós), συμπαγής (el) m (sympagís)

• Portuguese: compacto (pt)
• Romanian: compact (ro) m, n
• Russian: компа́ктный (ru) (kompáktnyj)
• Swedish: kompakt (sv)

topological sense

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紧的 (jǐn de), 紧致的 (jǐnzhì de)

• Dutch: compact (nl)
• French: compact (fr)
• German: kompakt (de)
• Greek: συμπεπιεσμένος m (sympepiesménos)

• Hebrew: קומפקטי‎ (he) (kompákti)
• Hungarian: kompakt (hu)
• Polish: zwarty (pl) m
• Portuguese: compacto (pt)
• Romanian: compact (ro) m, n
• Swedish: kompakt (sv)

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 [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.

Translations

small, slim folding case, often holding a mirror

• Greek: πουδριέρα (el) f (poudriéra)
• Japanese: コンパクト (ja) (konpakuto)

• Manx: kishtey poodyr m

newspaper format

See also

• Compact (cosmetics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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)^[2]:

     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

• (make more dense): compress, condense

Translations

make more dense

• Bulgarian: сбивам (bg) (sbivam), сгъстявам (bg) (sgǎstjavam)
• Dutch: compactificeren, samenpersen (nl)
• Greek: συμπυκνώνω (el) (sympyknóno), συμπτύσσω (el) (symptýsso)
• Hebrew: דחס‎ (dakhás)

• Irish: comhdhlúthaigh, dlúthaigh
• Maori: whakakiato
• Portuguese: compactar (pt)
• Spanish: compactar (es)

Anagrams

• accompt

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

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 (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

• (compact disc): Compact Disc, disque compact

Further reading

• “compact” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).