composite

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adjective com·pos·ite \ käm-ˈpä-zət , kəm-ˈpä- , especially British ˈkäm-pə-zit \

Updated on: 26 Jul 2017

Definition of composite

1 :made up of distinct parts or elements

a composite photograph

composite materials

: such as

a capitalized :relating to or being a modification of the Corinthian order combining angular Ionic volutes with the acanthus -circled bell of the Corinthian

b :of or relating to a very large family (Compositae synonym Asteraceae) of dicotyledonous herbs, shrubs, and trees often considered to be the most highly evolved plants and characterized by florets arranged in dense heads that resemble single flowers

c :factorable into two or more prime factors other than 1 and itself

8 is a positive composite integer.

2 :combining the typical or essential characteristics of individuals making up a group

… the composite man called the Poet …
—Richard Poirier

… the knight was a composite portrait of men whom Chaucer personally knew.
—John Livingston Lowes

3 of a statistical hypothesis :specifying a range of values for one or more statistical parameters — compare simple 10

4 of a video signal :having two signal components (such as chrominance and luminance) combined in a single channel

For years, commercial television equipment has relied upon composite video cabling, which carries both brightness (luminance) and color (chroma) in a single cable. Problem is, before your television can produce a picture from this signal, it must be heavily filtered, resulting in serious degradation of image quality.
—Home Theater Buyer's Guide

— compare ²component 2

—

compositely

adverb

See composite defined for English-language learners

See composite defined for kids

Examples of composite in a Sentence

the movie's special effects included the use of many composite photographs

Recent Examples of composite from the Web

The heavy-lift launchers of tomorrow would take advantage of key developments in composite materials, electronics and other technologies.

— miamiherald, "New generation of giant rockets is about to blast off," 17 July 2017
A composite sketch of the suspect was released, and searchers on horseback and on foot using dogs scoured the surrounding countryside.

— tony rizzo, kansascity, "Snatched from bed in the Northland, 9-year-old girl’s remains were found in Wyoming," 16 July 2017
In the composite rankings, combining 247Sports with Scout, ESPN and Rivals, Joiner checks in at No.

— drew champlin, AL.com, "Mountain Brook's Harold Joiner to showcase talents at The Opening," 1 July 2017
A composite image showing a company sign at the entrance to a Sky television building (up) in Osterley, London, Britain, and the sign at the offices of '21st Century Fox' (bottom) in New York, New York, USA (issued 29 June 2017).

— danica kirka, chicagotribune.com, "UK government delays Murdoch takeover of Sky," 29 June 2017
Their composite value is a tough sell when each is still unproven in his own way.

— rob mahoney, SI.com, "Trade Grades: Wolves Fleece Bulls In Jimmy Butler Blockbuster," 23 June 2017
Police and fire officials are trying to determine whether the aluminum composite panels contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze, which engulfed the 24-story building in less than an hour.

— danica kirka, chicagotribune.com, "Approximately 600 buildings in England could have 'combustible' panels," 22 June 2017
KU continues to hold strong in the 2018 team recruiting rankings; Rivals has the Jayhawks’ class at 16th, while the 247Sports Composite slots the team at 26th.

— jesse newell, kansascity.com, "KU football picks up top-rated Missouri offensive lineman Nick Williams," 22 June 2017
Experts believe the aluminum composite panels, which contain a plastic insulation material, may have helped spread the flames quickly up the outside of the tower.

— Washington Post, "79 now believed to have died in London high-rise fire," 19 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of composite

Latin compositus, past participle of componere — see compose

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1563

See Words from the same year

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

amalgamated, compound

Antonyms

noncompound, simple

Related Words

blended, combined, commingled, mingled, mixed; coalescent, fused, integrated; interlaced, intermixed, intertwined, interwoven; cut-and-paste

Near Antonyms

uncombined, unmixed

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

composite

noun

Definition of composite

1 :something composite :compound

a composite of two images

2 :a composite (see ¹composite 1b) plant

daisys, dandelions, and other composites

3 :composite function

4 :a solid material which is composed of two or more substances having different physical characteristics and in which each substance retains its identity while contributing desirable properties to the whole; especially :a structural material made of plastic within which a fibrous material (such as silicon carbide) is embedded

See composite defined for English-language learners

Examples of composite in a Sentence

a composite of diverse communities
He spotted a man who resembled the police composite.

Recent Examples of composite from the Web

Each section of the shoe is a different composite of all your favorite colorful characters.

— avery matera, Teen Vogue, "Lisa Frank for Reebok Is the Most Magical Sneaker Collab EVER," 30 Aug. 2017
A CG jaw was also made and animated to emulate the act of flesh ripping, but that portion was scrapped and the show went with a 2-D composite.

— peggy truong, Cosmopolitan, "26 Mind-Blowing Game of Thrones Facts Only a Superfan Would Know," 16 Aug. 2017
On Wednesday, the D.J.I.A. closed lower again, as did the S&P, and the Nasdaq composite.

— bess levin, vanityfair.com, "Trump Donor Bob Mercer Goes Medieval on Jeff Flake," 9 Aug. 2017
On Wednesday, the D.J.I.A. closed lower again, as did the S&P, and the Nasdaq composite.

— bess levin, The Hive, "Trump Donor Bob Mercer Drops a Bomb on Jeff Flake," 9 Aug. 2017
Companies in the broader composite index also generate 40 percent of their sales in the U.S. on average, according to the 72 firms that separate the data out.

— kristine owram, Bloomberg.com, "Loonie Gain Packs Less Punch for Canada's Continental Firms," 26 July 2017
Your dentist will ultimately reshape the tooth with composites that are bonded directly to it or with porcelain veneers or crowns, which last longer.

— joanne chen, Redbook, "Teeth: An Owner's Manual," 24 July 2017
Camden council, in north London, was one of the first to try to move residents out of towers with the flammable aluminium-composite cladding, in the days after the Grenfell fire.

— The Economist, "After Grenfell, councils scramble to fireproof their buildings," 20 July 2017
Not long after, the two men posed for a series of pictures capturing yet another handshake—one that the photo agency was kind enough to turn into a photobooth-style composite perfect for Oval Office- or Kremlin-framing.

— korin miller, Glamour, "Why Are Donald Trump's Handshakes So Weird?," 7 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of composite

see ¹composite

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1656

See Words from the same year

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

admixture, alloy, amalgam, amalgamation, cocktail, combination, blend, compound, conflation, emulsion, fusion, intermixture, meld, mix, mixture, synthesis

Near Antonyms

component, constituent, element, ingredient

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

composite

verb

Definition of composite

composited; compositing

transitive verb

:to make composite or into something composite

composited four soil samples

composite the images

Examples of composite in a Sentence

wood chips can be composited or sold as mulch

Recent Examples of composite from the Web

FILE PHOTO (EDITORS NOTE: COMPOSITE OF TWO IMAGES - Image numbers (L) 630131844 and 619019694) In this composite image a comparision has been made between Antonio Conte, Manager of Chelsea (L) and Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal.

— SI.com, "Chelsea vs Arsenal Preview as Champions Prepare to Meet London Rivals in Beijing," 19 July 2017
In the same 247Sports composite ranking, Herbert was 39th.

— andrew greif, OregonLive.com, "Oregon QB Justin Herbert, with help from Mannings, says his confidence has improved most," 14 July 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State defensive end commit Brenton Cox of Stockbridge, Ga., earned a fifth star in his 247Sports composite ranking on Tuesday, giving Urban Meyer two five-star defensive line pledges in his 2018 recruiting class.

— ari wasserman, cleveland.com, "Micah Parsons and more: Looking at Ohio State's top remaining defensive line targets," 31 May 2017

First Known Use of composite

1923

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

amalgamate, combine, comingle, commingle, commix, blend, concrete, conflate, fuse, homogenize, immingle, immix, incorporate, integrate, interfuse, intermingle, intermix, meld, merge, mingle, mix

Antonyms

break down, break up, separate, unmix

Related Words

add, admix, beat (in), cut in, fold, stir, toss; coalesce, compound, emulsify; conjoin, join, knit, link, unite; intertwine, interweave, weave

Near Antonyms

cleave, disjoin, disunite, divide, divorce, part, rupture, sever, sunder; disperse, dissolve, scatter; detach, disengage, split

Financial Definition of COMPOSITE

composite

adjective

What It Is

A composite is a grouping of securities, indexes or other items.

How It Works

One of the most well-known composites in the finance world is the Dow Jones Composite Average, which is a price-weighted average of the 65 companies that compose the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Dow Jones Utility Average. The index is price-weighted, meaning that the stocks with the highest prices have the most influence on the index.

Why It Matters

Composites are broad measures and usually a convenient way to evaluate the performance of a wide array of securities, other indexes or other items. For instance, the Dow Jones Composite Index gives a good indication of the overall direction of the largest companies in the United States: It includes some of the titans of the transportation, utility, financial services, technology, retail, entertainment and consumer goods industries. As such, the index is not just a measure of market performance; some consider it an economic indicator as well.

Source: Investing Answers

COMPOSITE Defined for English Language Learners

composite

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adjective

Definition of composite for English Language Learners

: made of different parts or elements

composite

noun

Definition of composite for English Language Learners

: something that is made up of different parts
: a drawing of someone who is wanted by the police that is made using descriptions given by witnesses

COMPOSITE Defined for Kids

composite

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adjective com·pos·ite \ kəm-ˈpä-zət \

Definition of composite for Students

:made up of different parts or elements

Concrete is a composite material made up of cement, sand, stone, and water.

Learn More about composite

See words that rhyme with composite Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for composite Spanish Central: Translation of composite Nglish: Translation of composite for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of composite for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about composite

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composite

Definition of composite

compositely

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Examples of composite in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of composite

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Seed Plant Terms

composite

Definition of composite

Examples of composite in a Sentence

Recent Examples of composite from the Web

Origin and Etymology of composite

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Other Seed Plant Terms

composite

Definition of composite

Examples of composite in a Sentence

Recent Examples of composite from the Web

First Known Use of composite

composite Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Financial Definition of COMPOSITE

What It Is

How It Works

Why It Matters

COMPOSITE Defined for English Language Learners

composite

Definition of composite for English Language Learners

composite

Definition of composite for English Language Learners

COMPOSITE Defined for Kids

composite

Definition of composite for Students

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