Meaning & use
comp
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
Something such as a ticket, room or meal that is given free, usually as a favor or to attract customers.
Grammar: Short for complimentary: a comp is a free item.
Patterns
- a comp for something
- get a comp
The casino gave regular guests a comp for dinner.
She received two comps for the premiere.
The manager handed the couple a comp to apologize for the delay.
verbtransitiveinformal
To give something free as a courtesy or reward.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a person and an item: they comped us a room.
Patterns
- comp someone something
- comp something
The restaurant comped our desserts after the long wait.
They comped him a hotel suite because he was a loyal customer.
The theater comped several tickets for local students.
noununcountableinformal
Short for compensation, meaning money paid for work or injury.
Grammar: Often in workers' comp, meaning insurance for on-the-job injury.
Patterns
- workers' comp
He filed for workers' comp after hurting his back at the warehouse.
The company offers good comp and benefits.
Total comp includes salary, bonus and stock.
nouncountablebusiness
A similar item used for comparison, such as a recently sold house of the same type, or a comparable company in finance.
Grammar: Usually plural, comps, in real estate and finance.
Patterns
- comps for something
The agent checked recent comps before setting the price.
Analysts studied the comps to value the start-up.
Three comps in the neighborhood sold for more than expected.
Word forms
| third person singular | comps |
|---|---|
| past tense | comped |
| past participle | comped |
| -ing form | comping |
Common combinations
- comp ticket
- The band left a comp ticket at the door for her.
- comp a meal
- The waiter offered to comp the meal after the mix-up.
- comp room
- The hotel gave a comp room to the top clients.
- workers' comp
- Workers' comp covered his medical bills.
- real estate comps
- The appraiser pulled real estate comps from the last six months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- freebie
- A freebie is any free item, often small or promotional, whereas a comp is usually a larger courtesy given by a business to a particular person.
- giveaway
- A giveaway is handed out widely as a promotion; a comp is more personal.
- complimentary
- Complimentary is the full, more formal adjective; comp is its clipped form for talking.
Word family
- complimentary adjective
- given free; also expressing praise
- compliment noun
- a kind remark of praise
- compensation noun
- payment given for work or loss
- compensate verb
- to pay or make up for something
Commonly confused: comp or complimentary?
comp vs complimentary
Complimentary means free or admiring and is spelled with an i. Do not confuse it with complementary, which means completing or going well with.
Practice
The server said the manager would ___ our drinks because the food took so long.
Choose one answer.
To comp something is to give it free as a courtesy, which fits an apology for slow service. The other verbs have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “comp”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.