What does “compare” mean?
- 1
verbto look at two or more things to see how they are alike or different
Compare the prices before you buy.
- 2
verbto say that one thing is like another
Critics compared her voice to Adele’s.
Compare at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /kəmˈpɛr/ · kum-PAIR
How to use “compare” correctly
“Compared with/to” can start a sentence: “Compared with last year, sales are up.”
Common phrases with “compare”
- compare with
- compare to
- compared with
- compare prices
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- comparison
- comparative
- comparable
Idioms with “compare”
- Compare apples and oranges: To compare two things that are too different to be compared fairly.
“compare” is on these word lists
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