What does "compact" mean?
An agreement or contract.
Compact
/ˈkɑmˌpækt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An agreement or contract.
- Grammar: compact is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: compress, covenant, a small blade, abbreviate.
- Useful contrasts: diffuse, loose, noncompact.
- Usage evidence: The watch on the compact disc is mine.
How to use "compact"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "compact" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "compact" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "compact" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "compact" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "compact" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "compress" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "compact", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An agreement or contract.
"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."
- 2 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.
- 3 a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse wordnet
- 4 An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.
- 5 a small and economical car wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
"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."
- 7 a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action wordnet
Verb
- 1 To form an agreement or contract. intransitive
"In return for the sovereign's protection, they compacted to police the content of public literature."
- 2 To make more dense; to compress. transitive
"You need to excavate and remove the topsoil, line the subsoil with a geotextile, then lay and compact hardcore."
- 3 squeeze or press together wordnet
- 4 To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
"The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth."
- 5 make more compact by or as if by pressing wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 compress into a wad wordnet
- 7 have the property of being packable or of compacting easily wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Agreed, contracted. archaic, not-comparable
"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, […]"
- 2 Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.
"glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies"
- 3 Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
"a compact laptop computer"
- 4 Brief and pithy; not verbose.
"a compact discourse"
- 5 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. not-comparable
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Of a topological space:; Compact in the above sense and moreover Hausdorff. not-comparable
- 7 Joined or held together; leagued; confederated. obsolete
"Thou fooliſh Frier, and thou pernicious woman / Compact with her that's gone:"
- 8 Composed or made; with of. obsolete
"A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapor."
Adjective
- 1 closely and firmly united or packed together wordnet
- 2 briefly giving the gist of something wordnet
- 3 having a short and solid form or stature wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The watch on the compact disc is mine."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "compact"?
Common synonyms include: compress, covenant, a small blade, abbreviate, abbreviated, abridge.
How do you use "compact" in a sentence?
The watch on the compact disc is mine.
How do you pronounce "compact"?
Pronounced /ˈkɑmˌpækt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Latin compactum (“agreement”).
Etymology 2
From Middle French compact, from Latin compāctus, perfect passive participle of compingō (“join together”), from com- (“together”) + pangō (“fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *pag- (“to fasten”).