comp

1 of 4

noun

: a complimentary ticket
broadly : something provided free of charge

comp

2 of 4

verb (1)

comped; comping; comps

transitive verb

: 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
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

comp

3 of 4

verb (2)

ˈkəmp How to pronounce comp (audio)
ˈkämp
comped; comping; comps

intransitive verb

: to punctuate and support a jazz solo with irregularly spaced chords

comp

4 of 4

abbreviation

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 Web
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

Etymology

Noun

short for complimentary

Verb (2)

short for accompany

First Known Use

Noun

1887, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1961, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of comp was in 1887

Dictionary Entries Near comp

Cite this Entry

“Comp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comp. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Medical Definition

comp

abbreviation

More from Merriam-Webster on comp

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