- (n.) A passing round; circuit; circuitous course.
- (n.) An inclosing limit; boundary; circumference; as, within the compass of an encircling wall.
- (n.) Moderate bounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within.
- (n.) Extent; reach; sweep; capacity; sphere; as, the compass of his eye; the compass of imagination.
- (n.) A circle; a continent.
- (v.t.) To curve; to bend into a circular form.
- (v.t.) To go about or entirely round; to make the circuit of.
- (n.) The range of notes or tones, within the capacity of a voice or instrument.
- (v.t.) To reach round; to circumvent; to get within one's power; to obtain; to accomplish.
- (v.t.) To inclose on all sides; to surround; to encircle; to environ; to invest; to besiege; -- used with about, round, around, and round about.
- (n.) An instrument for determining directions upon the earth's surface by means of a magnetized bar or needle turning freely upon a pivot and pointing in a northerly and southerly direction.
- (n.) An inclosed space; an area; extent.
- (v.t.) To purpose; to intend; to imagine; to plot.
- (n.) A pair of compasses.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). compass. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/compass/definitions/1989538 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "compass" http://smartdefine.org/compass/definitions/1989538 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, compass, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/compass/definitions/1989538>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "compass" 27 May 2011. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/compass/definitions/1989538> |