compromise
com·pro·mise/ˈkɑmpɹəˌmaɪz/noun, verb
compromise is spelled C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E, 3 syllables: com·pro·mise. The wrong spelling people search most is comprimise: about 180 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 18 of all searches for the word. Compromise is a noun meaning “The settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions”. The plural of compromise is compromises.
How many letters and syllables are in compromise?
| Letters | 10: C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: com·pro·mise |
| In writing | 14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, comprimise, about 180 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell compromise?
Compromise is spelled C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 16 of the searches for compromise in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is compromise?
Compromise appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th 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 compromise?
- UK /ˈkɒmpɹəˌmaɪz/
- US /ˈkɑmpɹəˌmaɪz/
- Canada /ˈkɒmpɹəˌmaɪz/
Compromise has 3 syllables, split com·pro·mise in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-compromise.ogg, En-us-compromise.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of compromise
- compromises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- compromising participle, present
- compromised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does compromise mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions.
- 2
A committal to something derogatory or objectionable; a prejudicial concession; a surrender.
a compromise of character or right
- 3
A breach of a computer or network's rules such that an unauthorized disclosure or loss of sensitive information may have occurred, or the unauthorized disclosure or loss itself.
verb
- 1
To bind by mutual agreement.
- 2
To adjust and settle by mutual concessions; to compound.
- 3
To find a way between extremes.
- 4
To pledge by some act or declaration; to endanger the life, reputation, etc., of, by some act which can not be recalled; to expose to suspicion.
- 5
To cause impairment of.
- 6
To illegally expose.
- 7
To breach (a security system).
They tried to compromise the security in the computer by guessing the password.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Compromise in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | compromis, concession , compromettre |
| German | Kompromiss, Ausgleich , einen Kompromiss schließen, sich einigen, eine Abmachung machen , einen Kompromiss finden |
| Portuguese | meio-termo, acordo, compromisso, concessão |
| Spanish | convenio, avenencia, transigencia , comprometerse , transigir, transar |
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 compromise come from?
From Middle French compromis, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin compromissum (“a compromise, originally a mutual promise to refer to arbitration”), prop. neuter of Latin compromissus, past participle of compromittere (“to make a mutual promise to abide by the decision of an arbiter”), from com- (“together”) + promittere (“to promise”); see promise.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).