Compact

How to spell compact

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce compact

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does compact mean?

1. adjectiveClosely and neatly packed together, taking up little space.
2. verbTo press something firmly so that it occupies less space.
3. nounA formal agreement or contract between two or more parties.
4. nounA small flat case holding face powder and usually a mirror.

Compact in a sentence

• adjective

  The new flat has a compact kitchen that still fits everything in.

• verb

  The machine will compact the loose soil before the slab is poured.

• noun

  The two regions signed a compact to share emergency services.

• noun

  She snapped open her compact to check her makeup before the meeting.

• adjective

  She chose a compact camera so it would slip into her coat pocket.

• verb

  Workers use a roller to compact the gravel on the new path.

Where does compact come from?

Language of origin: Latin

English actually owns two words spelled 'compact', and they reach back to two different Latin verbs that happen to share the prefix com-, meaning 'together'. The 'densely packed' senses come from the Latin compingere, 'to fasten or join together', whose past participle compactus literally meant 'pressed tightly together'; this gave the adjective and verb that English adopted in the late 1300s. The 'agreement' noun, by contrast, descends from the Latin compactum, 'a covenant', from compacisci 'to make a bargain', built on pacisci 'to covenant', which is a close relative of pax, 'peace', and of the everyday word 'pact'. Because both roots begin com-, the spellings merged into one form even though the meanings travelled separate paths. The handy thing for spelling is that the single c followed by the cluster -mpact is consistent across every sense, so once the com-pact join is fixed in mind the word rarely goes wrong.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• pact (from Latin pangere/pacisci: to fasten or to agree)