definition of the word compare

• • IPA: /kəmˈpɛɹ/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

to compare (third-person singular simple present compares, present participle comparing, simple past and past participle compared)

1. (transitive) To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things ["to compare X with Y"]. Having made the comparison with X, one might have found it similar to X or different from X.

   Compare the tiger's coloration with that of the zebra

   You can't compare my problems and yours

2. (transitive) To declare two things to be similar in some respect ["to compare X to Y"]

   Astronomers have compared comets to dirty snowballs

3. (transitive)(grammar) To form the three degrees of comparison of (an adjective).

   We compare good as good, better, best

4. (intransitive) To be similar (often used in the negative)

   A sapling and a fully-grown oak tree do not compare

Definition from Wiktionary Content avaible with GNU Free Documentation License

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