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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

compose.

To make something by merging parts.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/kəmˈpəʊz/Received-Pronunciation/kəmˈpoʊz/Canada, General-American/kəmˈpəʉz/Australia[kəmˈpɐʉz]Australia
  1. To make something by merging parts.

    transitive
    The editor composed a historical journal from many individual letters.
  2. To make up the whole; to constitute.

    transitive
    A church is composed of its members.
  3. To comprise.

    nonstandard · transitive
  4. To construct by mental labor; to think up; particularly, to produce or create a literary or musical work.

    intransitive · transitive
    The orator composed his speech over the week prior.
    Nine numbered symphonies, including the Fifth, were composed by Beethoven.
  5. To calm; to free from agitation.

    reflexive · sometimes
    Try to compose your thoughts.
    The defendant couldn't compose herself and was found in contempt.
  6. To arrange the elements of a photograph or other picture.

  7. To settle (an argument, dispute etc.); to come to a settlement.

  8. To arrange in proper form; to reduce to order; to put in proper state or condition.

  9. To arrange (types) in a composing stick for printing; to typeset.

    dated
Where this word comes from

From Middle English composen, from Old French composer (“to compose, compound, adjust, settle”), from com- + poser, as an adaptation of Latin componere (“to put together, compose”), from com- (“together”) + ponere (“to put, place”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.