1 (also magnetic compass) [C] an instrument for finding direction, with a needle that always points to the north:
a map and compass * the points of the compass (= N, S, E, W, etc.)
2 [C] (also compasses [pl.]) an instrument with two long thin parts joined together at the top, used for drawing circles and measuring distances on a map:
a pair of compasses
3 [sing.] (formal) a range or an extent, especially of what can be achieved in a particular situation:
We need to bring research techniques within the compass of normal teaching. * the compass of a singer's voice (= the range from the lowest to the highest note that he or she can sing)
Rate this entry
About this entry
This is a English–English dictionary entry.
Sourced from Main Dictionary in Lughet's collection.
This word also appears under other sources in Lughet's collection — see the list below.
This entry for compass is sourced from Main Dictionary, one of the dictionaries and corpora merged into Lughet.
Is compass a noun, verb, or something else?
In this entry, compass is tagged as noun.
Does compass appear elsewhere on Lughet?
Yes — compass appears under other sources or language pairs in Lughet's collection. See the list below.
What is Lughet?
Lughet is a free trilingual dictionary covering nearly five million entries across Uyghur, Chinese, and English, drawn from more than ten source dictionaries and corpora.
