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compound

UK /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/noun, adjective, verb

compound is spelled C-O-M-P-O-U-N-D: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, compound means “An enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or soldiers are confined” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of compound is compounds.

How many letters and syllables are in compound?

Letters8: C-O-M-P-O-U-N-D
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 compound?

Compound appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th 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 compound?

  • UK /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/
  • /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/
  • Canada /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/

As an adjective (“Composed of elements; not simple”): /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/, /ˈkɑmpaʊnd/, /ˈkɒmpaʊnd/.

Compound 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-compound_(noun).wav, En-us-compound.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of compound

  • compounds plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • compounding participle, present
  • compounded participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does compound mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    An enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or soldiers are confined.

  2. 2

    An enclosure for secure storage.

  3. 3

    A group of buildings situated close together, e.g. for a school or block of offices.

  4. 4

    A group of buildings where members of the same extended family live together.

  5. 5

    Anything made by combining several things.

  6. 6

    A substance formed by chemical bonding of two or more elements in definite proportions by weight.

  7. 7

    datedA substance made from any combination of ingredients.

  8. 8

    A legal procedure whereby a criminal or delinquent avoids prosecution in a court in exchange for his payment to the authorities of a financial penalty or fine.

  9. 9

    A lexeme that consists of more than one stem.

  10. 10

    A lexeme that consists of more than one stem or affix, e.g. "bookshop", "high school" or "non-standard".

    In the majority of the compounds of non- the hyphen is usually retained; but it is commonly omitted in the case of a few, such as nonconformist, nonentity, nonsense, in which the etymology has been to some extent lost sight of.

  11. 11

    A compound locomotive, a steam locomotive with both high-pressure and low-pressure cylinders.

  12. 12

    Ellipsis of compound exercise.

adjective

  1. 1

    Composed of elements; not simple.

    a compound word

  2. 2

    Dealing with numbers of various denominations of quantity, or with processes more complex than the simple process.

    compound addition

  3. 3

    An octave higher than originally (i.e. a compound major second is equivalent to a major ninth).

verb

  1. 1

    To form (a resulting mixture) by combining different elements, ingredients, or parts; to mingle with something else.

    to compound a medicine

  2. 2

    To settle by agreeing on less than the claim, or on different terms than those stipulated.

    to compound a debt

  3. 3

    To settle amicably; to adjust by agreement.

  4. 4

    To come to terms of agreement; to settle by a compromise.

    to compound with someone / for something

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo compose; to constitute.

  6. 6

    To increase in value with interest, where the interest is earned on both the principal sum and prior earned interest.

  7. 7

    To worsen a situation.

  8. 8

    Of a horse: to fail to maintain speed.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate compound?

Wiktionary records 4 abbreviations of compound: compd, compd., cpd, cpd..

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Compound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcomplexe (enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or…), composé (composed of elements), composer (to put together)
GermanKomplex, Lager, Block, Gelände, Gehege (enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or…), zusammengesetzt (composed of elements)
Portuguesecercado, complexo (enclosure within which workers, prisoners, or…), composto (composed of elements), compor (to put together)
Spanishcompuesto (composed of elements), recinto (group of buildings for the same purpose), calcular, devengar intereses (finance: to increase in value with interest), agravar (to worsen a situation)

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 compound come from?

Possibly from Malay kampong, kampung (“group of buildings, village”), via Dutch or Portuguese, altered under the influence of Etymology 2. Doublet of kampung.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after compound