American Heritage Dictionary Entry: compound HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com com·pound 1 (kŏm-pound, kəm-, kŏmpound′) Share: Tweet v. com·pound·ed, com·pound·ing, com·pounds v.tr. 1. To combine so as to form a whole; mix: Tin was often compounded with lead to make pewter. 2. To produce or create by combining two or more ingredients or parts; compose or make up: pharmacists compounding prescriptions. 3. To settle (a debt, for example) by agreeing on an amount less than the claim; adjust. 4. To compute (interest) on the principal and accrued interest. 5. a. To add to or intensify so as to make worse: "The university authorities ... compounded their crime in dismissing [the professor] by denying that their action ... reflected any abridgment of academic freedom" (John Kenneth Galbraith). b. To make worse by being an additional or intensifying factor: High winds compounded the difficulties of the firefighters. v.intr. 1. To combine in or form a compound. 2. To come to terms; agree. adj. (kŏmpound′, kŏm-pound, kəm-) 1. Consisting of two or more substances, ingredients, elements, or parts. 2. Botany Composed of more than one part: a compound pistil. n. (kŏmpound′) 1. A combination of two or more elements or parts. 2. Linguistics A word that consists either of two or more elements that are independent words, such as loudspeaker, self-portrait, or high school, or of specially modified combining forms of words, such as Greek philosophia, from philo-, "loving," and sophia, "wisdom." 3. Chemistry A pure, macroscopically homogeneous substance consisting of atoms or ions of two or more different elements in definite proportions that cannot be separated by physical means. A compound usually has properties unlike those of its constituent elements. [Alteration of Middle English compounen, from Old French componre, compondre, to put together, from Latin compōnere; see COMPONENT.] com·pounda·ble adj. com·pounder n. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. com·pound 2 (kŏmpound′) Share: Tweet n. 1. A building or buildings, especially a residence or group of residences, set off and enclosed by a barrier. 2. An enclosed area used for confining prisoners of war. [Alteration (influenced by COMPOUND1) of Malay kampung, village, ward or quarter of a town, perhaps of Austroasiatic origin; compare Old Khmer kaṃveṅ, enclosing wall, rampart, nominalization (with nominalizing infix -ən-) of khveṅ, to encircle, enclose : k-, intensive prefix + veṅ, to go around, enclose (akin to Mon waṅ, enclosure, and Koho (Austroasiatic language of southern Vietnam) waŋ, cattle yard).] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. American Heritage Dictionary Products The American Heritage Dictionary, 5th Edition The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms The American Heritage Roget's Thesaurus Curious George's Dictionary The American Heritage Children's Dictionary CONTACT US Customer Service Make Me An Author Ebooks Help with Glose Reader ABOUT US Company Profile Leadership Team Corporate Social Responsibility HarperCollins Careers HarperCollins Imprints HarperGreen Social Media Directory Accessibility FOR READERS Browse Reading Guides FOR AUTHORS Submit a Manuscript Report Piracy Agent Portal MEDIA Publicity Contacts Press Room SERVICES HarperCollins Speakers Bureau Library Services Academic Services Desk & Exam Copies Review Copies OpenBook API Marketing Partnerships COVID-19 RESOURCES & PERMISSIONS Permissions for Adult Online Readings Permissions for Kids Online Readings SALES & RIGHTS Booksellers & Retailer Ordering HarperCollins Catalogs Permissions Subsidiary Rights Media Rights and Content Development GLOSE APP iPhone Android GLOBAL DIVISIONS HarperCollins US HarperCollins Canada HarperCollins Christian HarperCollins Australia HarperCollins India HarperCollins UK Terms of Use • Terms of Sale • Your Ad Choices • Privacy Policy • California Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information Copyright 2022 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. *This website is best viewed in Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. Some characters in pronunciations and etymologies cannot be displayed properly in Internet Explorer.