# compound

Pronunciation: say "KOM-pownd" US /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/, UK /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/

## Noun

1. A substance formed when two or more chemical elements bond together in fixed proportions by weight.
   - Simple: A substance made when two or more chemical elements join together.
   - _Sodium chloride is a compound of sodium and chlorine in a fixed ratio._
   - _Chemists synthesize new compounds to test their medical uses._
3. An area enclosed by a fence or wall that contains a group of buildings, such as homes, offices, a prison camp, or storage.
   - Simple: An area with a fence or wall around it and buildings inside, used for living, working, prisoners or storage.
   - _The family lived in a compound of three houses surrounded by a high wall._
   - _The company moved into a modern office compound downtown._
7. A substance or thing made by combining two or more ingredients or parts, such as a polishing compound.
   - Simple: Something made by mixing or putting together two or more different things.
   - _The apothecary prepared a healing compound from herbs and animal fat._
   - _He rubbed a polishing compound into the scratches on the car door._
8. A word formed by joining two or more stems or words, such as "bookshop" or "high school".
   - Simple: A word made by joining two or more smaller words or word parts.
   - _"Bookshop" is a compound built from the stems "book" and "shop"._
   - _German is famous for forming long compounds from several pieces._
9. Short for compound exercise: a strength exercise, like a squat, that uses several joints and muscle groups at once. — Ellipsis of compound exercise.
   - Simple: Ellipsis of compound exercise. A workout move that works several muscle groups at the same time.
   - _His program centers on three big compounds and a few isolation moves._
   - _The coach recommends a compound before any accessory work._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "kuhm-POWND" /kəmˈpaʊnd/

2. To make a problem or difficult situation worse.
   - Simple: To make a bad situation even worse.
   - _The new tax rules compounded the difficulties facing small businesses._
   - _Ignoring the leak will only compound the damage to the house._
5. To grow in value over time as interest accrues on both the original sum and the interest already earned.
   - Simple: To grow in value as interest is added to both the money saved and the interest already earned.
   - _Left untouched, the investment will compound over several decades._
   - _Interest compounds daily in many modern savings accounts._
6. To form a mixture by combining different ingredients, elements, or parts.
   - Simple: To make something by mixing different parts or ingredients together.
   - _The pharmacist compounded the medicine from several raw ingredients._
   - _Workers compound the rubber with chemicals to make it stronger._
10. To settle a debt or legal claim by accepting payment of less than the full amount, or on terms different from those originally set.
   - Simple: To settle a debt or claim by accepting less money than was first asked for.
   - _The creditors chose to compound the outstanding loans rather than pursue lengthy litigation._
   - _The struggling store agreed to compound its debts by paying half of what it owed._

## Adjective

4. Made up of two or more parts or elements rather than being simple.
   - Simple: Made of several parts joined together, not just one.
   - _The eye of an insect is a compound structure with many separate lenses._
   - _A compound sentence joins two independent clauses with a word such as "and" or "but"._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "kuhm-POWND" /kəmˈpaʊnd/

11. To compose or constitute; to make up a whole from constituent parts. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make up or form something by putting parts together.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Dealing with quantities expressed in several different denominations, or with operations more involved than the basic single-unit process.
- (noun) A steam locomotive that expands steam in stages, using both high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders to extract more work from it.
- (adjective) Of a musical interval, larger than an octave: a simple interval widened by one or more octaves.
- (verb) To settle a dispute or come to terms by mutual agreement or compromise.
- (noun) A legal arrangement in which an accused offender avoids prosecution by paying a financial penalty to the authorities.
- (verb) Of a racehorse, to tire and fail to maintain its pace, especially in the closing stages of a race.

## Origin

**Meaning 3** — This word possibly comes from the Malay "kampong" or "kampung" ("group of buildings, village"), reaching English via Dutch or Portuguese, and was altered under the influence of the unrelated "compound" (to combine). It is a doublet of "kampung."
**Meanings 1–2, 4–11** — Latin com- ("together") and ponō ("to put") combined as componō, which became Middle French componre ("to put together") and then Middle English compounen.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/compound (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).