Illustration of compass
- compass 3a
compassed; compassing; compasses
1
: to devise or contrive often with craft or skill : plot
"… persons … who have compassed my destruction …"—
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
2
: encompass
a lake compassed by mountains
3
a
: bring about, achieve
… none can compass more than they intend …—Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
b
: to get into one's possession or power : obtain
He compassed a vast estate.
4
: comprehend
could not compass the seriousness of the problem
1
a
: boundary, circumference
within the compass of the city walls
b
: a circumscribed space
crammed into a narrow compass
2
: a curved or roundabout course
… a compass of seven days' journey …—2 Kings 3:9 (King James Version)
2 Kings 3:9 (King James Version)
3
a
: a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle or group of needles turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north
b
: any of various nonmagnetic devices that indicate direction
c
: an instrument for describing circles or transferring measurements that consists of two pointed branches joined at the top by a pivot
—usually used in plural
called also pair of compasses
4
: direction sense 6c
his moral compass
Synonyms of compass
Examples of compass in a Sentence
Verb attempting more than his modest abilities could compass the great age of exploration, when ships of sail compassed the earth Noun He always carries a compass when he walks in the woods. His religion is the compass that guides him. Interest rates serve as a compass for determining whether to buy or sell stocks. The character in the movie had no moral compass to tell him that stealing was wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024 At its best, McCarthy’s fiction could compass the strange and often violent order of existence. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 June 2023
Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 When your business broadens beyond the familiar faces and places where trust was once built naturally, that systematic clarity becomes your new compass. —Samuel Mueller, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for compass
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The wind sighs: Save me, Lord, for the waters have compassed my soul. —Tomas Tranströmer, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024 At its best, McCarthy’s fiction could compass the strange and often violent order of existence. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 June 2023
Noun
If Paul’s creed is essentially Roman, then Christianity looks, from the outset, like a religion trained to live with empire, its compass always set toward placating power. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026 When your business broadens beyond the familiar faces and places where trust was once built naturally, that systematic clarity becomes your new compass. —Samuel Mueller, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for compass
Cite this Entry
“Compass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/compass. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
compass
1 of 2 verb
com·pass ˈkəm-pəs 
also ˈkäm-
1
: to travel entirely around
compass the earth
2
compass
2 of 2 noun
1
2
a
: a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle pointing to the magnetic north
b
: any of various other devices that indicate direction
3
: an instrument for drawing circles or transferring measurements that consists of two pointed branches joined at the top
—usually used in plural
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