What does "compass" mean?
A magnetic or electronic device used to determine the cardinal directions (usually magnetic or true north).
Compass
/ˈkʌmpəs/ adv, noun, verb
adv, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A magnetic or electronic device used to determine the cardinal directions (usually magnetic or true north).
- Grammar: compass is listed as adv, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: range, scope, accept, accomplish.
- Useful contrasts: disorientation, fail, limit.
- Usage evidence: Hikers need to carry a compass with them to find their way through the woods.
How to use "compass"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "compass" 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 "compass" 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 "compass" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "compass" 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 "compass" is acting as adv, 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 "range" 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 "compass", 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 A magnetic or electronic device used to determine the cardinal directions (usually magnetic or true north).
"[H]ow many Seas to our fore-fathers impaſſable, for want of the Compaſſe?"
- 2 navigational instrument for finding directions wordnet
- 3 A pair of compasses (a device used to draw circular arcs and transfer length measurements).
"to fix one foot of their compass wherever they please"
- 4 drafting instrument used for drawing circles wordnet
- 5 The range of notes of a musical instrument or voice.
"You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: wordnet
- 7 A space within limits; an area. obsolete
"In going up the Missisippi ^([sic]), we meet with nothing remarkable before we come to the Detour aux Anglois, the English Reach: in that part the river takes a large compass."
- 8 the limit of capability wordnet
- 9 An enclosing limit; a boundary, a circumference. obsolete
"within the compass of an encircling wall"
- 10 Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; used with within.
"In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed."
- 11 Synonym of scope. formal
"the compass of his argument"
- 12 Range, reach. obsolete
"Lou's not Times foole, though roſie lips and cheeks VVithin his bending ſickles compaſſe come, Loue alters not with his breefe houres and vveekes, But beares it out euen to the edge of doome: If this be error and vpon me proued, I neuer vvrit, nor no man euer loued."
- 13 A passing round; circuit; circuitous course. obsolete
"This day I breathed first; time is come round, / And where I did begin, there shall I end; / My life is run his compass."
- 14 A curved circular form.
Verb
- 1 To surround; to encircle; to environ; to stretch round.
"Now all the blessings Of a glad father compass thee about!"
- 2 get the meaning of something wordnet
- 3 To go about or round entirely; to traverse.
- 4 travel around, either by plane or ship wordnet
- 5 To accomplish; to reach; to achieve; to obtain. dated
"[…] tho' theſe ſeem'd to be very unfit Inſtruments for compaſſing of that great Deſign for which they were then employ'd, becauſe of their Inability and Uncapacity in performing the Work ſo very great and important; […]"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 bring about; accomplish wordnet
- 7 To plot; to scheme (against someone). dated
"That he plotted and compassed to raise Sedition and Rebellion [...]"
Adverb
- 1 In a circuit; round about. obsolete
"[T]he Towne is impailed about halfe a mile compaſſe."
Antonyms
Example
"Hikers need to carry a compass with them to find their way through the woods."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "compass"?
Common synonyms include: range, scope, accept, accomplish, accomplish, achieve.
How do you use "compass" in a sentence?
Hikers need to carry a compass with them to find their way through the woods.
How do you pronounce "compass"?
Pronounced /ˈkʌmpəs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English compas (“a circle, circuit, limit, form, a mathematical instrument”), from Old French compas, from Medieval Latin compassus (“a circle, a circuit”), from Latin com- (“together”) + passus (“a pace, step, later a pass, way, route”); see pass, pace.
Etymology 2
From Middle English compassen (“to go around, make a circuit, draw a circle, contrive, intend”), from Old French compasser; from the noun; see compass as a noun.