Meaning & use
compile
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To gather information from several places and put it together into one list, report, or collection.
Grammar: Takes an object: compile a list, compile a report.
Patterns
- compile something from something
- compile something into something
The librarian compiled a reading list from several recommendations.
Reporters compiled the data from public records.
She spent a month compiling a cookbook of family recipes.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputing
To turn program code written by a person into a form that a computer can run.
Grammar: Takes an object when you compile code; code itself can compile without error.
Patterns
- compile the code
- the code compiles
The program failed to compile because of a missing bracket.
He compiled the source code on his laptop.
It takes ten minutes to compile the whole project.
Word forms
| third person singular | compiles |
|---|---|
| past tense | compiled |
| past participle | compiled |
| -ing form | compiling |
Common combinations
- compile a list
- I compiled a list of local plumbers.
- compile data
- The team compiled data on sales.
- compile a report
- She was asked to compile a report for the board.
- compile code
- You must compile the code before running it.
- compile an anthology
- The editor compiled an anthology of short stories.
Synonyms and how they differ
- collect
- Collect just means gather, but compile adds the idea of arranging gathered items into an organized whole.
- assemble
- Assemble can mean fitting physical parts together, while compile is usually about information.
- gather
- Gather is informal and general, whereas compile suggests careful organizing.
- put together
- Put together is a relaxed phrasal equivalent, but is less precise than compile.
Opposites
Word family
- compilation noun
- a collection of items put together
- compiler noun
- a person or program that compiles
- compiled adjective
- gathered or translated into runnable form
- recompile verb
- to compile again
Commonly confused: compile or complied? compile or compose?
compile vs complied
Complied is the past tense of comply, to obey a rule, and has no connection with gathering information.
compile vs compose
Compose means to create something such as music or a letter, rather than to gather existing material.
Practice
The editor will ____ short pieces from many writers into a single volume.
Choose one answer.
Compile means to gather and arrange material into one collection. Comply, compete and complain are similar in spelling but have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “compile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.