composite

American  

[kuhm-poz-it] / kəmˈpɒz ɪt /

adjective

1. made up of disparate or separate parts or elements; compound.

   a composite drawing; a composite philosophy.

2. Botany. belonging to the Compositae.

3. (initial capital letter) noting or pertaining to one of the five classical orders, popular especially since the beginning of the Renaissance but invented by the ancient Romans, in which the Roman Ionic and Corinthian orders are combined, so that four diagonally set Ionic volutes, variously ornamented, rest upon a bell of Corinthian acanthus leaves.

4. Rocketry.

   1. (of a rocket or missile) having more than one stage.

   2. (of a solid propellant) made up of a mixture of fuel and oxidizer.

5. Nautical. noting a vessel having frames of one material and shells and decking of another, especially one having iron or steel frames with shells and decks planked.

6. Mathematics. of or relating to a composite function or a composite number.

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noun

1. something composite; a compound.

2. Botany. a composite plant.

3. a picture, photograph, or the like, that combines several separate pictures.

verb (used with object)

composited, compositing

1. to make a composite of.

composite British  

/ ˈkɒmpəzɪt /

adjective

1. composed of separate parts; compound

2. of, relating to, or belonging to the plant family Asteraceae

3. maths capable of being factorized or decomposed

   a composite function

4. (sometimes capital) denoting or relating to one of the five classical orders of architecture: characterized by a combination of the Ionic and Corinthian styles See also Doric Tuscan

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noun

1. something composed of separate parts; compound

2. any plant of the family Asteraceae (formerly Compositae ), typically having flower heads composed of ray flowers (e.g. dandelion), disc flowers (e.g. thistle), or both (e.g. daisy)

3. a material, such as reinforced concrete, made of two or more distinct materials

4. a proposal that has been composited

verb

1. (tr) to merge related motions from local branches of (a political party, trade union, etc) so as to produce a manageable number of proposals for discussion at national level

Other Word Forms

• compositely adverb
• compositeness noun
• hypercomposite adjective
• noncomposite adjective
• noncompositely adverb
• noncompositeness noun

Etymology

Origin of composite

1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin compositus (past participle of compōnere to put together), equivalent to com- com- + positus placed; posit

Example Sentences

This makes it especially promising for sensing applications and advanced composite materials.

From Science Daily

U.S. stock indexes ended mixed, with the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 both declining while the Dow industrials edged higher.

From The Wall Street Journal

U.S. stocks wavered after a bruising selloff last week that put both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite in correction territory.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%, extending its own losing streak to three, and both benchmarks touched their lowest closing value since early August.

From The Wall Street Journal

The spectacular ensemble, arranged in the order Seurat originally chose, forms a composite portrait of the harbor town and its grassy environs.

From The Wall Street Journal