DictionaryAI

comprise

verb
kuhm-PRYZ/kəmˈpɹaɪz/

Formscomprises, comprising, comprised

Often confused with compose

3 meanings of comprise

Practice

  1. 1
    verbtransitive
    To be made up of; to consist of, typically as a full listing of the parts that something contains.

    These collections comprise rare manuscripts gathered over two centuries.

    The novel comprises three interlocking narratives set in different decades.

    Similarinclude, contain, encompass, embrace, incorporate

    Note

    The direction of this verb matters: the whole is the subject and the parts follow, as in a committee that comprises a president, secretary, treasurer and five other members. In the passive, the parts are comprised by the whole. the reversed 'make up' use is a separate matter. The word came through Old French compris, past participle of comprendre, from Latin comprehendere. That makes it a cousin of comprehend, with the same -prise as apprise, reprise and surprise.

  2. 2
    verbpassivetransitive
    To make up or constitute a whole; to be the parts that together form something.

    Eight founding families comprised the original settlement on the river.

    Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen comprise the bulk of organic matter.

    Similarconstitute, compose, form

    Note

    Here the verb runs backward: the parts are the subject and the whole is the object. In the passive it yields is comprised of, the phrase some usage guides reject. The construction is not new, since Isaac Barrow writes of "angles comprised of equal right lines" in his 1657 translation of Euclid's Data. Where criticism matters, write is composed of or consists of, or use make up in the active: the parts make up the whole.

  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To include or contain as a minimum, specifying the essential elements an invention must have while leaving room for additional ones.

    The independent claim comprises a frame, a motor, and a mounting bracket, but does not exclude other components.

    Drafters word claims to comprise the minimal elements so competitors cannot avoid infringement by adding features.

    Similarinclude

    Note

    Patent drafters value this verb for what it leaves out of the count. A device that has every recited element plus others still falls within the claim, so a competitor cannot escape a comprising claim by adding an extra part. In ordinary prose, the everyday 'consist of' sense implies a full list. In a claim, the list is a floor, not a ceiling.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English comprisen, from Old French compris, the past participle of comprendre, which comes from Latin comprehendere ("to comprehend"). It is related to words like apprise, reprise, and surprise.