compact
/ˈkɑmˌpækt/noun, verb, adjective
compact is spelled C-O-M-P-A-C-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, compact means “An agreement or contract” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of compact is compacts.
How many letters and syllables are in compact?
| Letters | 7: C-O-M-P-A-C-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 11 times per million words; the 6,456th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is compact?
Compact appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,456th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce compact?
- UK /ˈkɒmˌpækt/
- US /ˈkɑmˌpækt/
As a verb (“To form an agreement or contract”): /kəmˈpækt/.
As an adjective (“Agreed, contracted”): /kəmˈpækt/, /kəmˈpækt/, /ˈkɑmˌpækt/.
Compact has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-compact_(noun).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-compact_(verb).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-compact_(adjective).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of compact
- compacts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- compacting participle, present
- compacted participle, past
- more compact comparative
- compacter comparative
- most compact superlative
- compactest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does compact mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An agreement or contract.
- 2
A slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powder puff, small enough to fit in a woman's purse, handbag, or pocket.
- 3
An automobile that is larger than a subcompact but smaller than an intermediate.
- 4
A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
verb
- 1
To form an agreement or contract.
- 2
To make more dense; to compress.
- 3
To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
adjective
- 1
Closely packed or densely constituted; having much material in a small volume.
- 2
Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
a compact laptop computer
- 3
Brief and pithy; not verbose.
a compact discourse
- 4
Such that every open cover has a finite subcover. In a metric space, this is equivalent to being sequentially compact. In metric spaces with the Heine-Borel property, this is equivalent to being closed and bounded.
- 5
Compact in the above sense and moreover Hausdorff.
- 6
obsoleteJoined or held together; leagued; confederated.
- 7
obsoleteComposed or made; with of.
- 8
archaicAgreed, contracted.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Compact in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | pakt, Kontrakt, over, Vertrag , kompakt , Puderdose |
| Portuguese | acordo, contrato, pacto , compacto , compactar |
| Spanish | acuerdo , compacto , compactar, apelmazar |
| French | poudrier , compact |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does compact come from?
Borrowed from Latin compactum (“agreement”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).