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Close vs Compact - What's the difference?

close | compact | Synonyms |

In obsolete terms the difference between close and compact

is that close is out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden while compact is composed or made; with of.

As verbs the difference between close and compact

is that close is to remove a gap while compact is to make more dense; to compress.

As nouns the difference between close and compact

is that close is an end or conclusion while compact is an agreement or contract.

As adjectives the difference between close and compact

is that close is closed, shut while compact is closely packed, i.e. packing much in a small space.

close

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) .

Verb

(clos)
  • (label) To remove a gap.
  • # To obstruct (an opening).
  • # To move so that an opening is closed.
  • #* (Lord Byron) (1788-1824)
  • What deep wounds ever closed without a scar?
  • #*
  • #*:If I close my eyes I can see Marie today as I saw her then. Round, rosy face, snub nose, dark hair piled up in a chignon.
  • # To make (e.g. a gap) smaller.
  • # To grapple; to engage in close combat.
  • #* (1796-1859)
  • They boldly closed in a hand-to-hand contest.
  • (label) To finish, to terminate.
  • # To put an end to; to conclude; to complete; to finish; to consummate.
  • #* (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • One frugal supper did our studies close .
  • # To come to an end.
  • # (label) To make a sale.
  • # To make the final outs, usually three, of a game.
  • # To terminate an application, window, file or database connection, etc.
  • To come or gather around; to enclose; to encompass; to confine.
  • * Bible, (w) ii. 5
  • The depth closed me round about.
  • * (George Herbert) (1593-1633)
  • But now Thou dost Thyself immure and close / In some one corner of a feeble heart; / Where yet both Sinne and Satan, Thy old foes, / Do pinch and straiten Thee, and use much art / To gain Thy thirds' and little part.
  • (label) To have a vector sum of 0; that is, to form a closed polygon.
  • Synonyms
    * close off, close up, cover, shut, shut off * shut * (put an end to) end, finish, terminate, wind up, close down * narrow * (terminate a computer program) close out, exit
    Antonyms
    * open * open * (put an end to) begin, commence, initiate, start * extend, widen * (terminate a computer program) open, start
    Derived terms
    * autoclosing * case closed * close down * close in * close off * close one's eyes * close out * close ranks * close the door on * close the face * close up *

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An end or conclusion.
  • We owe them our thanks for bringing the project to a successful close .
  • * Macaulay
  • His long and troubled life was drawing to a close .
  • The manner of shutting; the union of parts; junction.
  • * Chapman
  • The doors of plank were; their close exquisite.
  • A grapple in wrestling.
  • (Francis Bacon)
  • (music) The conclusion of a strain of music; cadence.
  • * Dryden
  • At every close she made, the attending throng / Replied, and bore the burden of the song.
  • (music) A double bar marking the end.
  • Synonyms
    * (end) end, finale
    Antonyms
    * (end) beginning, start

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) clos, from (etyl) clausum, participle of (m).

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Closed, shut.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew chapter 8:
  • There is nothinge so close , that shall not be openned, and nothinge so hyd that shall not be knowen.
  • * Dryden
  • From a close bower this dainty music flowed.
  • Narrow; confined.
  • a close''' alley; '''close quarters
  • * Charles Dickens
  • a close prison
  • At a little distance; near.
  • * , chapter=7
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=[…] St.?Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close -packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838, page=71, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= End of the peer show , passage=Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close . This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.}}
  • Intimate; well-loved.
  • # (legal) Of a corporation or other business entity, closely held.
  • Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and doors, the one maketh the air close , and the other maketh it exceeding unequal.
  • Hot, humid, with no wind.
  • (linguistics, phonetics, of a vowel) Articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate.
  • Strictly confined; carefully guarded.
  • a close prisoner
  • (obsolete) Out of the way of observation; secluded; secret; hidden.
  • * Bible, 1 Chron. xii. 1
  • He yet kept himself close because of Saul.
  • * Spenser
  • her close intent
  • Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced.
  • a close contest
  • Short.
  • to cut grass or hair close
  • (archaic) Dense; solid; compact.
  • * John Locke
  • The golden globe being put into a press, the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal.
  • (archaic) Concise; to the point.
  • close reasoning
  • * Dryden
  • Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass.
  • (dated) Difficult to obtain.
  • Money is close .
    (Bartlett)
  • (dated) Parsimonious; stingy.
  • * Hawthorne
  • a crusty old fellow, as close as a vice
  • Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact.
  • a close translation
    (John Locke)
  • Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict.
  • The patient was kept under close observation.
    Synonyms
    * (at a little distance) close by, near, nearby * (intimate) intimate * muggy, oppressive * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) high
    Antonyms
    * (at a little distance) distant, far, far away, far off, remote * (intimate) aloof, cool, distant * (articulated with the tongue body relatively close to the hard palate) open
    Derived terms
    * close call * closely * closeness * close shave * close-up * thisclose

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An enclosed field.
  • (British) A street that ends in a dead end.
  • (Scotland) A very narrow alley between two buildings, often overhung by one of the buildings above the ground floor.
  • (Scotland) The common staircase in a tenement.
  • A cathedral close.
  • * Macaulay
  • closes surrounded by the venerable abodes of deans and canons.
  • (legal) The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not enclosed.
  • (Bouvier)
    Synonyms
    * (street) cul-de-sac

    Statistics

    *

    compact

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An agreement or contract.
  • Synonyms
    * agreement, contract, pact, treaty

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl), from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Closely packed, i.e. packing much in a small space.
  • * Isaac Newton
  • glass, crystal, gems, and other compact bodies
  • Having all necessary features fitting neatly into a small space.
  • a compact laptop computer
  • (mathematics, uncomparable, of a set in an Euclidean space) Closed and bounded.
  • A set S of real numbers is called compact if every sequence in S has a subsequence that converges to an element again contained in S.
  • (topology, uncomparable, of a set) Such that every open cover of the given set has a finite subcover.
  • Brief; close; pithy; not diffuse; not verbose.
  • a compact discourse
  • (obsolete) Joined or held together; leagued; confederated.
  • * Shakespeare
  • compact with her that's gone
  • * Peacham
  • a pipe of seven reeds, compact with wax together
  • (obsolete) Composed or made; with of .
  • * Milton
  • A wandering fire, / Compact of unctuous vapour.
    Synonyms
    * (closely packed) concentrated, dense, serried, solid, thick, tight
    Derived terms
    * compact car * compact disc * locally compact

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A small, slim folding case, often featuring a mirror, powder and a powderpuff; that fits into a woman's purse or handbag, or that slips into ones pocket.
  • A broadsheet newspaper published in the size of a tabloid but keeping its non-sensational style.
  • * 2012 , BBC News: Dundee Courier makes move to compact [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-16576612]:
  • The Dundee Courier has announced the newspaper will be relaunching as a compact later this week. Editor Richard Neville said a "brighter, bolder" paper would appear from Saturday, shrunk from broadsheet to tabloid size.

    See also

    *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make more dense; to compress.
  • * '>citation
  • To unite or connect firmly, as in a system.
  • * Bible, Eph. iv. 16
  • The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth.
    Synonyms
    * (make more dense) compress, condense

    Anagrams

    * English heteronyms ----