: a complimentary ticket
broadly
: something provided free of charge
comped; comping; comps
: to provide (someone) with something free
a hotel comping celebrities for their rooms
Tim had turned to greet a fellow in a tweedy sport coat, and I saw him signal the bartender to comp the guy to a drink.—
Sue Grafton
Sue Grafton
also
: to provide (something) free of charge
Opening night, there was enough of an overflow, and enough angry people left in the hallways, that management started to comp hotel rooms to soothe the frazzled. —Ben Fong-Torres
Ben Fong-Torres
comped; comping; comps
: to punctuate and support a jazz solo with irregularly spaced chords
5
Synonyms
Examples of comp in a Sentence
Noun
this hotel offers its guests more comps, including a free bottle of champagne, than most in its class
Recent Examples on the WebTrefis Team, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
On Wednesday, Rapp posted photos on Instagram of her and Tung onstage and provided a comp for reference showing Bieber wooing a girl during a concert over a decade ago.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
While there are no direct comps, the adult-skewing Ford v Ferrari earned $2.1 million in Thursday previews, while Elvis generated $3.5 million (both films opened to roughly $31 million domestically).
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Oct. 2023
On December 30, 2022, to commemorate a 30th-anniversary reissue of the comp, Autechre live-streamed a five-and-a-half-hour set of music from the period.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 22 Aug. 2023
During our conversation, Rogen excitedly cues up a couple of songs from the new comp on the turntable at the Houseplant office, as well as a couple of other all-time favorites.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2023
The comps for Jack Salter range from Robert Duvall in Days of Thunder to John Candy in Cool Runnings.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Aug. 2023
Fans will get to see the HOH comp play out on Sunday.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 1 Sep. 2023
The Rangers last non-SEC first-rounder, though, might be as good a comp for him as anyone.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 9 July 2023
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
The 6-1, 190-pound left-handed hitting center fielder who can conjure up some Bryce Harper visual comps with flowing locks and occasional heavy eye black, began the spring as the top high school hitter in the draft and has done nothing to diminish his stock.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 27 June 2023
In hot markets like the past two years, homes in better condition than comps were selling six days faster.
—Amit Arora, Fortune, 22 June 2023
While most categories were struggling in the apparel market to comp last year’s sales, areas like sleepwear and loungewear are on track to grow to by $19.5 billion by 2024, thanks to 2020’s boost.
—Syama Meagher, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
And the player comp for Karlaftis?
—Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2022
Those injuries are awful for the employees who endure them, and also expensive for the companies that employ them in terms of sick days and workers comp insurance costs.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
In many cases back then, the hotels would comp you on everything.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2021
The lawsuit, which was first filed in May 2017, accused City Councilman Elton Alexander — now Stockbridge’s Mayor Pro Tem — of a year-long retaliation campaign against Whitson and his eatery after the proprietor declined to comp Alexander’s meal.
—Leon Stafford, ajc, 15 Apr. 2021
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Noun
In fact, Lowe’s also had weak sales, with comps falling by 1.4% for Q2 2023.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023
On Wednesday, Rapp posted photos on Instagram of her and Tung onstage and provided a comp for reference showing Bieber wooing a girl during a concert over a decade ago.
—Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023
While there are no direct comps, the adult-skewing Ford v Ferrari earned $2.1 million in Thursday previews, while Elvis generated $3.5 million (both films opened to roughly $31 million domestically).
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Oct. 2023
On December 30, 2022, to commemorate a 30th-anniversary reissue of the comp, Autechre live-streamed a five-and-a-half-hour set of music from the period.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 22 Aug. 2023
During our conversation, Rogen excitedly cues up a couple of songs from the new comp on the turntable at the Houseplant office, as well as a couple of other all-time favorites.
—Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2023
The comps for Jack Salter range from Robert Duvall in Days of Thunder to John Candy in Cool Runnings.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Aug. 2023
Fans will get to see the HOH comp play out on Sunday.
—David Wysong, The Enquirer, 1 Sep. 2023
The Rangers last non-SEC first-rounder, though, might be as good a comp for him as anyone.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 9 July 2023
Verb
Yet that praise is always well-considered, and the comps Bailey continues to accrue already put him in a very high-rent catching district.
—Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
The 6-1, 190-pound left-handed hitting center fielder who can conjure up some Bryce Harper visual comps with flowing locks and occasional heavy eye black, began the spring as the top high school hitter in the draft and has done nothing to diminish his stock.
—Evan Grant, Dallas News, 27 June 2023
In hot markets like the past two years, homes in better condition than comps were selling six days faster.
—Amit Arora, Fortune, 22 June 2023
While most categories were struggling in the apparel market to comp last year’s sales, areas like sleepwear and loungewear are on track to grow to by $19.5 billion by 2024, thanks to 2020’s boost.
—Syama Meagher, Forbes, 6 Apr. 2021
And the player comp for Karlaftis?
—Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 19 Apr. 2022
Those injuries are awful for the employees who endure them, and also expensive for the companies that employ them in terms of sick days and workers comp insurance costs.
—Amy Feldman, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
In many cases back then, the hotels would comp you on everything.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2021
The lawsuit, which was first filed in May 2017, accused City Councilman Elton Alexander — now Stockbridge’s Mayor Pro Tem — of a year-long retaliation campaign against Whitson and his eatery after the proprietor declined to comp Alexander’s meal.
—Leon Stafford, ajc, 15 Apr. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comp.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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Cite this Entry
“Comp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comp. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.
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comp
abbreviation
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