Meaning & use
comprise
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To have as parts; the whole is made up of the listed parts.
Grammar: The whole is the subject: the team comprises ten players.
Patterns
- something comprises something
The committee comprises five members.
The apartment comprises two bedrooms and a small kitchen.
The course comprises lectures and workshops.
verbtransitive
To be the parts that together form a whole.
Grammar: Sometimes disliked by careful writers; prefer make up.
Patterns
- something comprises something
Women comprise half of the workforce.
Students comprise most of the audience.
Word forms
| third person singular | comprises |
|---|---|
| past tense | comprised |
| past participle | comprised |
| -ing form | comprising |
Common combinations
- comprise of
- Some people write 'comprised of', though purists avoid it.
- be comprised of
- The panel is comprised of experts.
- comprise a total
- The offerings comprise a total of twelve dishes.
- comprise a majority
- Voters under thirty comprise a majority.
Synonyms and how they differ
- contain
- Contain suggests holding inside, while comprise suggests the parts that make up the whole.
- include
- Include does not claim a complete list; comprise normally does.
- consist of
- Consist of is the safe, widely accepted choice with the same meaning.
Word family
- comprehensive adjective
- including everything
- comprehension noun
- understanding
- comprehend verb
- to understand
Commonly confused: comprise or compose?
comprise vs compose
Compose is used in 'is composed of'; 'is comprised of' is disputed.
Practice
The museum ___ three main galleries and a small library.
Choose one answer.
Comprise takes the parts directly. Consists needs 'of', and 'composes' would reverse the whole and its parts.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “comprise”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.