comprise

verb

kəm-ˈprīz How to pronounce comprise (audio)
Definition of comprisenext
1
as in to contain
to be made up of the mall comprises three department stores and 80 smaller shops selling specialized goods

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to constitute
to be all the substance of at the time, about 100,000 fighting men and women comprised our military force in that country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of comprise Exposure to financial liability has also become more concentrated as Aon's survey found that medical claims exceeding $100,000 comprise an outsized percentage of all healthcare costs. — Bruce Roffe, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 The school’s most recent 990 filing, covering the year ended June 30, 2025, shows a Menlo Venture Capital Endowment comprising approximately 36 individual investments in venture capital partnerships and early stage companies. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026 Even last season, Emery would field starting XIs comprising eight or nine players who predated his arrival. — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026 The smart garden ecosystem comprises several components that create a supportive system for plant care. — Gretchen M. Stone, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for comprise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for comprise
  1. contain
  2. constitute
  3. include
  4. compose
  5. form
Verb
  • According to police sources, witnesses said two men threw two bottles containing an unknown substance into the deli.
    — Allen Devlin, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The proposal is for one building that would contain three studio apartment homes, 35 one-bedroom apartment homes, and 36 two bedroom apartment homes.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of contain
Verb
  • Full renminbi convertibility, which is the premise buried inside Allaire's three-to-five-year forecast and which would constitute a different Chinese financial system entirely.
    — Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • If women constitute the film’s heart, animals form its pulse.
    — Manahil Tahira, Variety, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of constitute
Verb
  • Because growing the rice itself is not profitable, even with historic high prices for Japanese rice, the company supports the agricultural costs through side ventures including a restaurant and an ice cream brand launched this summer.
    — Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • As Emmy voting gets underway, the show landed 11 nominations, including an outstanding host for a reality or reality competition program nod for RuPaul.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of include
Verb
  • Expand the Legislative Ethics Commission — which oversees the IG and is composed entirely of General Assembly members — to include public representatives.
    — David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Mishra composed four of the soundtrack’s six songs, sharing the album with Ravi Basrur, Tanishk Bagchi and Faheem Abdullah.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of compose
Verb
  • In one instance in Pereira, CBS News cameras captured volunteers forming human bucket brigades, passing piece after piece of rubble by hand for hours.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • When Iraola left Mirandes and was appointed as head coach of another second-tier side, Rayo Vallecano, De la Torre formed part of his backroom staff as the fitness coach.
    — Andy Jones, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of form

Browse Nearby Words

compression
comprise
comprised
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Comprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/comprise. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on comprise

Nglish: Translation of comprise for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All