compendium

noun

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com·pen·di·um | \ kəm-ˈpen-dē-əm

plural compendiums or compendia\ kəm-ˈpen-dē-ə

Definition of compendium

1 : a brief summary of a larger work or of a field of knowledge : abstract a one-volume compendium of the multivolume original

2a : a list of a number of items

b : collection, compilation a compendium of folk tales

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Examples of compendium in a Sentence

a one-volume compendium of information He published a compendium of folk tales.

Recent Examples on the Web This expansive compendium of work in different mediums – including photos, essays, poetry, recipes, tweets and memes – represents the radical imagination and provocative work being done by Black creators today. — Barbara Vandenburgh, USA TODAY, "10 must-read Black History Month book recommendations: Cicely Tyson, Angie Thomas and more," 4 Feb. 2021 By far, the bulk of the handbook is a compendium of plants that thrive without summer water. — Sally Peterson, oregonlive, "Book review: ‘Gardening in Summer-Dry Climates’," 19 Jan. 2021 The book includes a Krewe-niverse compendium, with short glosses on the identities or activities of each group. — Will Coviello, NOLA.com, "'I Wanna Do That' explores New Orleans' Carnival 'Krewe-niverse'," 4 Jan. 2021 Concerned Health Professionals of New York and Physicians for Social Responsibility this week released the seventh edition of their compendium of studies on the dangers of fracking. — Bill Mckibben, The New Yorker, "Our Stuff Weighs More Than All Living Things on the Planet," 17 Dec. 2020 The painting is a challenging compendium of the new ideas, formal experiments and theories then current in advanced art, made personal and distinctly American. — William C. Agee, WSJ, "New American Movement," 25 Dec. 2020 In addition, she has been nominated for best classical album, best musical show album, and best classical compendium. — Zachary Lewis, cleveland, "Shaker Heights’ Elaine Martone earns Grammy nomination for classical production work," 25 Nov. 2020 This clever little book is, as the title promises, a compendium of nothing but carrot recipes—carrot soup, carrot gumdrops, macaroni and carrot—though the titular root is a placeholder (or maybe a metaphor) as much as a literal ingredient. — Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, "The Best Cookbooks of 2020," 15 Dec. 2020 Minnesota already has a 300-plus page compendium of doom called the State Hazard Mitigation Plan. — Jennifer Bjorhus, Star Tribune, "New index shows riskiest places for Minnesota's natural hazards," 5 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'compendium.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

11 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Compendium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compendium. Accessed 6 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for compendium

compendium

noun

English Language Learners Definition of compendium

: a collection of things (such as photographs, stories, facts, etc.) that have been gathered together and presented as a group especially in the form of a book

See the full definition for compendium in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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