I. com ‧ pound 1 AC /ˈkɒmpaʊnd $ ˈkɑːm-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1-2,4: Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ compound 3 ]
[ Sense 3: Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Malay ; Origin: kampong 'group of buildings, village' ]
1 . technical a substance containing atoms from two or more ↑ element s ⇨ element :
man-made organic compounds
compound of
Sulphur dioxide is a compound of sulphur and oxygen.
2 . a combination of two or more parts, substances, or qualities
compound of
Teaching is a compound of several different skills.
Brush on a damp-proofing compound.
3 . an area that contains a group of buildings and is surrounded by a fence or wall:
a prison compound
4 . technical a noun, adjective etc that is made up of two or more words. The noun ‘flower shop’ and the adjective ‘self-made’ are compounds.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + compound
▪ an organic compound (=containing carbon)
the organic compounds of which living things are made
▪ an inorganic compound (=not containing carbon)
▪ a chemical compound (=formed by a chemical process involving two or more elements)
▪ a carbon/nitrogen/sulphur etc compound
Use a copper compound to protect the trees from pests.
▪ a toxic/dangerous compound (=containing poisonous or harmful substances)
toxic compounds such as heavy metals
■ verbs
▪ form a compound
Atoms combine in specific ways to form chemical compounds.
▪ a compound contains something
This compound contains two atoms of nitrogen and four atoms of hydrogen.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ a mxture of chemical substances
▪ compound a chemical substance that contains atoms of two or more ↑ element s :
common chemical compounds such as sodium chloride
▪ solution a liquid mixed with a solid or a gas:
a weak sugar solution
II. com ‧ pound 2 AC /kəmˈpaʊnd/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: compondre , from Latin componere , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + ponere 'to put' ]
1 . to make a difficult situation worse by adding more problems
compound a problem/difficulty etc
Helmut’s problems were compounded by his lack of concentration.
2 . British English to make a bad action worse by doing more bad things
compound a crime/an offence etc
He compounded the offence by calling his opponents liars.
3 . be compounded of something formal to be a mixture of things:
a smell compounded of dust and dead flowers
4 . American English to pay ↑ interest that is calculated on both the sum of money and the interest:
Interest is compounded quarterly.
III. com ‧ pound 3 AC /ˈkɒmpaʊnd $ ˈkɑːm-/ BrE AmE adjective technical
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: Past participle of compoun 'to compound' (14-17 centuries) , from Old French componre , from Latin componere ; ⇨ ↑ compound 2 ]
1 . compound eye/leaf etc a single eye, leaf etc that is made up of two or more parts ⇨ simple
2 . compound noun/adjective etc a noun, adjective etc that is made up of two or more words. For example, ‘ice cream’ is a compound noun.
3 . compound sentence a sentence that has two or more main parts ⇨ complex sentence