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compile

verb

Simple meaning

To make by gathering pieces from different sources.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kuhmpyl

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

kəmˈpaɪl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To make by gathering pieces from various sources.

  2. transitivesnooker

    To achieve (a break) by making a sequence of shots.

  3. transitiveprogramming

    To use a compiler to process source code and produce executable code.

  4. Use a computer program to translate source code written in a particular programming language into computer-readable machine code that can be executed

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To make by gathering pieces from various sources.

Used this way, compile is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

compile informationcompile datacompile statistics

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • compilernounInflected form

    A person who compiles information (as for reference purposes).

  • compilingnounInflected form

    The act of compiling (as into a single book or file or list).

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • compilationnounDerived noun

    Something that is compiled (as into a single book or file).

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • compiling programnounCompound term

    A program that decodes instructions written in a higher order language and produces an assembly language program.

  • c compilernounCompound term

    A compiler for programs written in C.

  • fortran compilernounCompound term

    A compiler for programs written in FORTRAN.

  • lisp compilernounCompound term

    A compiler for programs written in LISP.

  • pascal compilernounCompound term

    A compiler for programs written in Pascal.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to make by gathering pieces from various sources

compose

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.