compare
UK/kəmˈpɛə//kəmˈpɛɚ/
compare verb: to assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it similar to Y or different from Y.
Verb
compare (third-person singular simple present compares, present participle comparing, simple past and past participle compared)
- To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it similar to Y or different from Y.
- Compare the tiger's coloration with that of the zebra.
- You can't compare my problems and yours.
- Synonyms:
- set against, weigh against, collate
- To declare two things to be similar in some respect [“to compare X to Y”].
- Astronomers have compared comets to dirty snowballs.
- Solon compared the people unto the sea, and orators and counsellors to the winds; for that the sea would be calm and quiet if the winds did not trouble it.1625, Francis [Bacon], Apophthegmes New and Old. […], London: […] Hanna Barret, and Richard Whittaker, […], →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- liken
- To form the three degrees of comparison of (an adjective).
- We compare “good” as “good”, “better”, “best”.
- To be similar (often used in the negative).
- A sapling and a fully-grown oak tree do not compare.
- Shall pack-horses[…]compare with Caesar's?c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […]...
- To get; to obtain.
- To fill his bags, and richesse to compare.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto IV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 28
Noun
compare (countable and uncountable, plural compares)
- Comparison.
- His mighty Champion, ſtrong above compare,1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 38, line 557
- Their small galleys may not hold compare with our tall ships.a. 1687, Edmund Waller, To my Worth Friend Sir Thomas Higgons
- An instruction or command that compares two values or states.
- […] including addition and subtraction, memory operations, compares, shifts, logic operations, and condition operations.1998, International Conference on Computer Design: Proceedings, IEEE, page 490
- It is always advisable to run a compare between your source and target environments. This should highlight whether there are differences in the lengths of VARCHARs and then the differences can be corrected before you clone.2013, Paolo Bruni, Carlos Alberto Gomes da Silva Junior, Craig McKellar, Managing DB2 for z/OS Utilities with DB2 Tools Solution Packs
- Illustration by comparison; simile.
- Rhymes full of protest, of oath, and big compare.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
compare meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
compare in Hindi
- to assess the similarities between two things or between one thing and another
- तौलना taulnā
compare in Tamil
- to assess the similarities between two things or between one thing and another
- ஒப்பிடு oppiṭu
- to declare two things to be similar in some respect
- ஒப்பிடு oppiṭu
compare in Marathi
- तुलना करा, तुलना करणे
compare in Urdu
- to compare
- ملانا milānā
More languagesFewer languages
- compare in Bengali
- তুলনা করা tulona kora
- compare in Telugu
- పోల్చు pōlcu, ఉపమించు upamiñcu, పోలుచు pōlucu
- compare in Malayalam
- ഒത്തുനോക്കുക ottunōkkuka, ഒക്കുക okkuka
- compare in Kannada
- ಪೋಲಿಸು, ಹೋಲಿಸು, ತುಲನೆಮಾಡು, ತಾಳೆನೋಡು
- compare in Punjabi
- ਤੁਲਨਾ ਕਰੋ
- compare in Gujarati
- સરખામણી કરો, તુલના કરો
- compare in Odia
- ଗଣିବା gaṇibā, ଲଖିବା lakhibā, ବୁଝିବା bujhibā
- compare in Assamese
- ৰিজোৱা rizüa, তুুলনা কৰা tuulona kora
- compare in Nepali
- दाँज्नु dā̃jnu
- compare in Arabic
- قَارَنَ qārana, شَبَّهَ šabbaha
- compare in Indonesian
- bandingkan
- compare in Persian
- مقایسه کردن moqâyase kardan, moqâyese kardan
- compare in Thai
- เปรียบเทียบ bprìiap-tîiap
- compare in Vietnamese
- so sánh, so
- compare in Myanmar
- စာ ca, စက် cak, နှိုင်း hnuing:
Examples of compare in a sentence
- Compare two Unicode symbols: ☞ (“WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX”); ☛ (“BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX”).
- Many employers have rules designed to keep employees from comparing their pays.
- There is just something so amazing about reading a physical book as compared to an e-book.
Synonyms of compare
Forms of compare
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | compares |
| present participle | comparing |
| past participle | compared |
| past | compared |
| alternative form | cp. |
| alternative form | comp. |
| alternative form | cmp |
| second-person singular present (archaic) | comparest |
| second-person singular past (archaic) | comparedst |
| third-person singular present (archaic) | compareth |
| Noun | |
| plural | compares |
Origin of compare
From Middle English comparen, from Old French comparer, from Latin comparare (“to prepare, procure”), from compar (“like or equal to another”), from com- + par (“equal”). Displaced native Old English metan (“to compare,” also “to measure”).
Words formed from compare
Words that rhyme with compare
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- declare
- hair
- Sinclair
- where
- ayr
- care
- layer
- mayor
- parterre
- fare
- glare
- lair
- pear
- prayer
- snare
- dare
- rare
- share
- swear
- ware
- wear and tear
- Ayer
- blare
- flair
- forbear
- Kerr
- laissez faire
- mousquetaire
- pare
- prepare
- repair
- stare
- unfair
- yare
- -ware
- abear
- aflare
- despair
- glair
- heir
- impair
- Pierre
- reair
- scare
- tare
- trillionaire
- Voltaire
- aware
Questions about compare
- What does compare mean?
- Compare means to assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it similar to Y or different from Y.
- What is compare in Hindi?
- Compare in Hindi is तौलना (taulnā). See Compare meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is compare?
- Compare can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce compare?
- Compare is pronounced /kəmˈpɛɚ/ (US).
- What is the past tense of compare?
- The past tense of compare is compared.
Words near compare in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: compare (page history and authors); compare (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ملانا (Urdu) (page history and authors); ఉపమించు (Telugu) (page history and authors); ഒക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); compare (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); compare (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); compare (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ଗଣିବା (Odia) (page history and authors); दाँज्नु (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-compare.ogg.
Cite this entry: “compare.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/compare. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.