I. com ‧ po ‧ site 1 /ˈkɒmpəzət, ˈkɒmpəzɪt $ kɑːmˈpɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: compositus , past participle of componere ; ⇨ ↑ compound 2 ]
1 . made up of different parts or materials:
The author builds up a useful composite picture of contemporary consumer culture.
composite metals
2 . American English a composite drawing or photograph consists of pictures of each separate part of the face put together into one drawing, and is used especially to help catch criminals:
a composite sketch
II. composite 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . something made up of different parts or materials
composite of
The child’s character was a composite of two girls I knew.
2 . American English a picture of a possible criminal, made by police from descriptions given by ↑ witness es SYN identikit British English