compass

American  

[kuhm-puhs] / ˈkʌm pəs /

noun

compasses plural

1. an instrument for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north.

2. the enclosing line or limits of any area; perimeter.

   You can find anything you want downtown within the compass of ten square blocks.

3. space within limits; area; extent; range; scope: the broad compass of the novel.

   the narrow compass of the strait;

   the broad compass of the novel.

4. Also called range.  the total range of tones of a voice or of a musical instrument.

5. due or proper limits; moderate bounds.

   Their behavior stayed within the compass of propriety.

6. a passing round; circuit.

   the compass of a year.

7. Often compasses an instrument for drawing or describing circles, measuring distances, etc., consisting generally of two movable, rigid legs hinged to each other at one end (usually used withpair of ).

   to spread the legs of a compass and draw a larger circle.

8. Astronomy.

   1. Also called Mariner's Compass.  Compass. the constellation Pyxis.

   2. Compasses, the constellation Circinus.

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adjective

1. curved; forming a curve or arc: compass roof.

   a compass timber;

   compass roof.

verb (used with object)

compasses, present (3rd person singular) compassed, past participle, past compassing present participle

1. to go or move round; make the circuit of.

   It would take a week to compass his property on foot.

2. to extend or stretch around; hem in; surround; encircle.

   An old stone wall compasses their property.

3. to attain or achieve; accomplish; obtain.

   To have compassed this task in the limited time available is no mean achievement.

4. to contrive; plot; scheme.

   to compass a treacherous plan.

5. to make curved or circular.

6. to comprehend; to grasp, as with the mind.

   His mind could not compass the extent of the disaster.

compass British  

/ ˈkʌmpəs /

noun

1. an instrument for finding direction, usually having a magnetized needle which points to magnetic north swinging freely on a pivot

2. Also called: pair of compasses.  (often plural) an instrument used for drawing circles, measuring distances, etc, that consists of two arms, joined at one end, one arm of which serves as a pivot or stationary reference point, while the other is extended or describes a circle

3. limits or range

   within the compass of education

4. music the interval between the lowest and highest note attainable by a voice or musical instrument

5. archaic a circular course

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verb

1. to encircle or surround; hem in

2. to comprehend or grasp mentally

3. to achieve; attain; accomplish

4. obsolete to plot

compass Scientific  

/ kŭm′pəs /

1. A device used to determine geographical direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle mounted on a pivot, aligning itself naturally with the Earth's magnetic field so that it points to the Earth's geomagnetic north or south pole.

2. A device used for drawing circles and arcs and for measuring distances on maps, consisting of two legs hinged together at one end.

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Synonym Usage

See range.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outcompass
  verb (used with object)
• precompass
  verb (used with object)
• compassable
  adjective
• compassless
  adjective
• uncompassable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• compasses
  plural

Participles

• compassing
  present
• compassed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• compass
  simple
• compasses
  simple
• have compassed
  perfect
• has compassed
  perfect
• am compassing
  progressive
• are compassing
  progressive
• is compassing
  progressive
• have been compassing
  perfect progressive
• has been compassing
  perfect progressive

Past

• compassed
  simple
• had compassed
  perfect
• was compassing
  progressive
• were compassing
  progressive
• had been compassing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will compass
  simple
• will have compassed
  perfect
• will be compassing
  progressive
• will have been compassing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of compass

First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English compassen, from Old French compasser “to measure,” from unattested Vulgar Latin compāssāre, equivalent to compāss(us), “equal step” ( Latin com- com- + pāssus pace ¹ ) + -āre verb suffix; (noun) Middle English compas, from Old French, derivative of compasser

Explanation

Long before we had GPS (Global Positioning System) devices, people used a magnetic instrument called a compass for navigation. Some people still use a compass to navigate — usually when their GPS isn’t working. Compass can also refer to another type of instrument, one that’s used for drawing circles; this should be familiar to you if you have ever studied geometry. In addition, compass can mean "range" or "scope." If you decide to hike the Appalachian Trail, using a compass (the navigational kind) should hopefully fall within your compass of ability. If not, we hope you own a reliable GPS.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

compass compasses compassed compassing

The more Mary affords grace to others, the more she gains confidence in who she is, as a person with a strong moral compass forged away from her mother’s ambitions.

From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026

Walking in these diagonal directions, as well as 5 feet in the straight compass directions, shows that many pairs of dots on this giant chessboard are exactly 5 feet apart.

From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2026

"Martian was once idealistic and full of hope, then his moral compass gets eroded by the things he has to do and the sacrifices that go into it."

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

In 2023, Chinese activist Kwon Pyong, who is an ethnic Korean, fled to South Korea on a jet ski, carrying binoculars and a compass.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

The two of us were compass needles, pointing straight at Mom.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller

"Haematite is widespread. Centuries ago, it was already used for compasses in seafaring," explains Bossini.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025

Guided by phosphorescent compasses strapped to their wrists, the divers reached the ship in just a few minutes.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

But something more nuanced emerges regarding our internal compasses in filmmaker Levan Akin’s “Crossing,” about a retired Georgian schoolteacher trying to track down her transgender niece in Istanbul.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024

Dr. Sharvit speculated that, lacking compasses, astrolabes or sextants, seafarers in the 14th century B.C. probably relied on celestial navigation, taking sightings and angles of the sun and star positions.

From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

There were three or four glass-fronted cabinets containing antique scientific instruments—brass microscopes, telescopes covered in green leather, sextants, compasses; it was clear why he wanted the alethiometer.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

“Wild Swans” would seem to have laid bare every cruel irony of the volatile times it compassed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

The "great tracts of land" he imagines "compassed about with heavens fair" are not necessarily those of Eden.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 20, 2010

And as men's political horizons expand toward the world state, each man feels a stronger need to cherish some one region small enough to be compassed by one heart and mind.

From Time Magazine Archive

He compassed a great coup with 317 second-hand bath-tubs, became a wholesale bargain man with a Long Island City warehouse, and his slogan was known to all the city: "Fippany for Any Old Thing".

From Time Magazine Archive

Bystander, while freely admitting that the Theistic theory is compassed with difficulties; and requires "re-statement," reminds us that the-"materialistic hypothesis is not free from difficulty."

From Ingersoll in Canada A Reply to Wendling, Archbishop Lynch, Bystander; and Others by Pringle, Allen

All who belonged to it were to be considered guilty of "compassing the death of our Lord the King."

From The Trial of Theodore Parker For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence by Parker, Theodore

The overt act relied on to convict him of "levying war" and "compassing the death of our Lord the King," was membership of a Reform society!

From The Trial of Theodore Parker For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence by Parker, Theodore

She remembers him chiefly as absorbed in the business and interest of his profession, intent upon compassing the support of his family, and achieving such distinction as might prove compatible with that object.

From Margaret Fuller (Marchesa Ossoli) by Howe, Julia Ward

For he would not have supposed that Miss Judy was known by any one beyond the compassing hills, so completely had her life seemed bound about by the wooded borders of the village.

From Oldfield A Kentucky Tale of the Last Century by Banks, Nancy Huston

Thus a formidable conspiracy was formed for the purpose of compassing Temujin's ruin.

From Genghis Khan, Makers of History Series by Abbott, Jacob