I. kəm-ˈpakt, käm-ˈ, ˈkäm-ˌ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, firmly put together, from Latin compactus, from past participle of compingere to put together, from com- + pangere to fasten — more at pact
Date: 14th century
1. : predominantly formed or filled : composed , made
2.
a. : having a dense structure or parts or units closely packed or joined
a compact woolen
compact bone
b. : not diffuse or verbose
a compact statement
c. : occupying a small volume by reason of efficient use of space
a compact camera
a compact formation of troops
d. : short-bodied, solid, and without excess flesh
3. : being a topological space and especially a metric space with the property that for any collection of open sets which contains it there is a subset of the collection with a finite number of elements which also contains it
• com·pact·ly -ˈpak(t)-lē, -ˌpak(t)- adverb
• com·pact·ness -ˈpak(t)-nəs, -ˌpak(t)- noun
II. verb
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1. : to make up by connecting or combining : compose
2.
a. : to knit or draw together : combine
b. : to press together : compress
intransitive verb
: to become compacted
• com·pact·ible -ˈpak-tə-bəl, -ˌpak- adjective
• com·pac·tor also com·pact·er -ˈpak-tər, -ˌpak- noun
III. ˈkäm-ˌpakt noun
Date: 1601
: something that is compact or compacted:
a. : a small cosmetic case (as for compressed powder)
b. : an automobile smaller than an intermediate but larger than a subcompact
IV. ˈkäm-ˌpakt noun
Etymology: Latin compactum, from neuter of compactus, past participle of compacisci to make an agreement, from com- + pacisci to contract — more at pact
Date: 1591
: an agreement or covenant between two or more parties