COMPACT

adj., v., & n. --adj. 1 closely or neatly packed together. 2 (of a piece of equipment, a room, etc.) well-fitted and practical though small. 3 (of style etc.) condensed; brief. 4 (esp. of the human body) small but well-proportioned. 5 (foll. by of) composed or made up of. --v.tr. 1 join or press firmly together. 2 condense. 3 (usu. foll. by of) compose; make up. --n. 1 a small, flat, usu. decorated, case for face-powder, a mirror, etc. 2 an object formed by compacting powder. 3 US a medium-sized motor car. øcompact disc a disc on which information or sound is recorded digitally and reproduced by reflection of laser light. øøcompaction n. compactly adv. compactness n. compactor n. [ME f. L compingere compact- (as COM-, pangere fasten)]