compare
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.
Example
“Compare the tiger's coloration with that of the zebra.”
Other meanings
To declare two things to be similar in some respect ["to compare X to Y"].
“Astronomers have compared comets to dirty snowballs.”
To form the three degrees of comparison of (an adjective).
“We compare "good" as "good", "better", "best".”
Related words
- compare apples to apples
- incompared
- uncompared
- comparee
- intercompare
- miscompare
- recompare
- comparingly
- comparable
- compare and contrast
- compare apples with apples
- compare and despair
Example sentences
Word history
From Latin "comparare" (to prepare, procure).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “compare” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.