compounds

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of compound.

   Chemists synthesized several new compounds during the trial.

   Many flavors in ripe fruit come from volatile aromatic compounds.

   Note

   One spelling serves two words: this plural noun and the verb's present-tense form. As a plural it covers very different things: fenced enclosures for workers or prisoners, secure storage yards, clusters of buildings, family compounds in the Philippines, and the chemist's substances bonded in fixed proportions. The neighboring words usually make the meaning clear. 'Prison compounds' and 'aromatic compounds' are never confused.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of compound.

   The bank compounds interest monthly rather than once a year.

   Poor sleep compounds the stress that workers already feel.

   Note

   Whether an object follows decides the meaning here. Interest compounds on its own, earning on interest already earned. A creditor who compounds a debt settles it for less than was claimed, and parties who compound reach a compromise. Combining one thing with another takes an object, as when one problem compounds another. An older use meaning simply 'to compose' is now obsolete.

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