Meaning & use
compatriot
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who comes from the same country as you, especially when you meet them abroad.
Grammar: Countable: a compatriot, fellow compatriots; often with fellow.
Patterns
- a fellow compatriot
- her compatriot
In a crowded foreign market, she met a compatriot and they chatted in their native language.
The athlete thanked his compatriots for their support.
He spent the evening with compatriots at the embassy.
nouncountable
A person who shares the same loyalty or national cause as another, especially in a conflict or competition.
Grammar: Used about teammates or allies of the same nation.
Patterns
- compatriots of someone
The skater beat her compatriot to win gold.
Rebel leaders called on their compatriots to resist.
He fought alongside compatriots in the war.
Word forms
| plural | compatriots |
|---|
Common combinations
- fellow compatriot
- A fellow compatriot offered to translate.
- meet a compatriot
- She was glad to meet a compatriot at the conference.
- fellow compatriots
- He urged his fellow compatriots to vote.
- his compatriot
- His compatriot finished second in the race.
- compatriot abroad
- A compatriot abroad can feel like family.
Synonyms and how they differ
- countryman
- Countryman is older and refers to a man from your country, while compatriot works for anyone.
- fellow citizen
- Fellow citizen stresses sharing citizenship and often appears in speeches, whereas compatriot stresses coming from the same country.
- countrywoman
- Countrywoman is the female equivalent of countryman and is much rarer than compatriot.
- national
- National alone is a person of a country, as in a French national, and does not show a link between two people.
Opposites
Word family
- patriot noun
- a person who loves and supports their country
- patriotic adjective
- loving one's country
- patriotism noun
- love of one's country
- expatriate noun
- a person living outside their native country
- repatriate verb
- to send someone back to their own country
Commonly confused: compatriot or compatible? compatriot or expatriate?
compatriot vs compatible
Compatible means able to work or exist together, while compatriot is a person from the same country.
compatriot vs expatriate
An expatriate lives abroad, whereas a compatriot is a person from your own country wherever they are.
Practice
Abroad on holiday, she was delighted to hear a ____ speaking her own language.
Choose one answer.
A compatriot is someone from the same country. A patriot loves their country, compatible is an adjective, and a competitor is a rival.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compatriot”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.