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 Wrong Girls” comes to have its own wayward sense of internal logic, navigating off a slightly woozy compass.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Skye MRT said walkers should be wary of technology failing and be able to use a map and compass.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

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

This was at Alexander’s request; he was quite taken with the topic of navigation all of a sudden and refused to go ten steps in any direction without referring to his compass.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

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

That will mean switching to compasses and calling in artillery using a map — and doing it all seamlessly.

From Salon ● Apr. 17, 2024

As maritime compasses became cheaper and more widely available, instructions on how to make your own would have become increasingly irrelevant.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

“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

Manchu China en compassed all of Mongolia, Korea and Taiwan.

From Time Magazine Archive

And was it not for her own good that he should gain her; even if he compassed his end by a little manœuvring, by stooping a little, by spying a little?

From Starvecrow Farm by Stanley J. Weyman

But Mr. Scrope has his refinements, and, besides that he spares himself, would take a particular pleasure in compassing my ruin at the same time that he outwitted you.'

From Parson Kelly by Andrew Lang

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

From Genghis Khan, Makers of History Series by Jacob Abbott

To think of compassing anything by force was absurd, for the count, not having yet acknowledged his sin, he had no legal right over the child.

From The Grandee by Armando Palacio Valdés

And they saw the camp of the Gentiles strong and fortified, and horsemen compassing it round about; and these were expert in war.

From The Bible Story by Newton Marshall Hall

They toiled upward with stubborn determination, and wasted breath in voluble commination of the length of the way, when they could have employed it more usefully in compassing it.

From White Fire by John Oxenham