compass

com·pass

C0524500 (kŭm′pəs, kŏm′-)n.1. a. A device used to determine geographic direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle or needles horizontally mounted or suspended and free to pivot until aligned with the earth's magnetic field.b. Another device, such as a radio compass or a gyrocompass, used for determining geographic direction.2. A V-shaped device for describing circles or circular arcs and for taking measurements, consisting of a pair of rigid, end-hinged legs, one of which is equipped with a pen, pencil, or other marker and the other with a sharp point providing a pivot about which the drawing leg is turned. Also called pair of compasses.3. Awareness or understanding of one's purpose or objectives: "Lacking a coherent intellectual and moral commitment, [he] was forced to find his compass in personal experience" (Doris Kearns Goodwin).4. a. An enclosing line or boundary; a circumference: outside the compass of the fence. See Synonyms at circumference.b. A restricted space or area: four huge crates within the compass of the elevator.c. Range or scope, as of understanding, perception, or authority: The subject falls outside the compass of this study. See Synonyms at range.5. Music See range.tr.v. com·passed, com·pass·ing, com·pass·es 1. To make a circuit of; circle: The sailboat compassed the island.2. To surround; encircle: The trees compass the grave.3. To understand; comprehend: "God ... is too great a profundity to be compassed by human cerebration" (Flann O'Brian).4. a. To accomplish or bring about: "He compassed his end only by the exercise of gentle violence" (Henry James).b. To gain or achieve: "She had compassed the high felicity of seeing the two men beautifully take to each another" (Henry James).5. To scheme; plot: compass the death of the king.adj. Forming a curve.

[Middle English compas, circle, compass, from Old French, from compasser, to measure, from Vulgar Latin *compassāre, to pace off : Latin com-, com- + Latin passus, step; see pace¹.]

com′pass·a·ble adj.

compass

(ˈkʌmpəs) n1. an instrument for finding direction, usually having a magnetized needle which points to magnetic north swinging freely on a pivot2. (Mathematics) (often plural) Also called: pair of compasses an instrument used for drawing circles, measuring distances, etc, that consists of two arms, joined at one end, one arm of which serves as a pivot or stationary reference point, while the other is extended or describes a circle3. limits or range: within the compass of education. 4. (Music, other) music the interval between the lowest and highest note attainable by a voice or musical instrument5. archaic a circular coursevb (tr) 6. to encircle or surround; hem in7. to comprehend or grasp mentally8. to achieve; attain; accomplish9. obsolete to plot[C13: from Old French compas, from compasser to measure, from Vulgar Latin compassāre (unattested) to pace out, ultimately from Latin passus step] ˈcompassable adj

com•pass

(ˈkʌm pəs)

n. 1. an instrument for determining directions, as by means of a freely rotating magnetized needle that indicates magnetic north. 2. Often, compasses. an instrument for drawing or describing circles, measuring distances, etc., consisting generally of two hinged, movable legs (often used with pair of). 3. the enclosing line or limits of any area; perimeter. 4. space within limits; scope: the broad compass of the novel. 5. the total range of tones of a voice or of a musical instrument. 6. due or proper limits; moderate bounds: to act within the compass of propriety. 7. a passing round; circuit: the compass of a year. adj. 8. curved; forming a curve or arc: a compass roof. v.t. 9. to go or move around; make the circuit of: to compass the city on foot. 10. to extend or stretch around; surround; encircle: A stone wall compasses the property. 11. to attain or achieve; accomplish; obtain. 12. to contrive; plot; scheme. 13. to make curved or circular. 14. to comprehend; grasp, as with the mind. [1250–1300; (v.) Middle English < Old French compasser to measure < Vulgar Latin *compāssāre, v. derivative of *compāssus equal step (Latin com- com- + pāssus pace¹); (n.) Middle English < Old French, derivative of compasser] com′pass•a•ble, adj.

com·pass

(kŭm′pəs)1. A device used to determine geographical direction, usually consisting of a magnetic needle mounted so that it points to magnetic north.2. A device used for drawing circles and arcs and for measuring distances, consisting of two legs hinged together at one end.

compass

Past participle: compassed
Gerund: compassing

Imperative
compass
compass

Present
I compass
you compass
he/she/it compasses
we compass
you compass
they compass

Preterite
I compassed
you compassed
he/she/it compassed
we compassed
you compassed
they compassed

Present Continuous
I am compassing
you are compassing
he/she/it is compassing
we are compassing
you are compassing
they are compassing

Present Perfect
I have compassed
you have compassed
he/she/it has compassed
we have compassed
you have compassed
they have compassed

Past Continuous
I was compassing
you were compassing
he/she/it was compassing
we were compassing
you were compassing
they were compassing

Past Perfect
I had compassed
you had compassed
he/she/it had compassed
we had compassed
you had compassed
they had compassed

Future
I will compass
you will compass
he/she/it will compass
we will compass
you will compass
they will compass

Future Perfect
I will have compassed
you will have compassed
he/she/it will have compassed
we will have compassed
you will have compassed
they will have compassed

Future Continuous
I will be compassing
you will be compassing
he/she/it will be compassing
we will be compassing
you will be compassing
they will be compassing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been compassing
you have been compassing
he/she/it has been compassing
we have been compassing
you have been compassing
they have been compassing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been compassing
you will have been compassing
he/she/it will have been compassing
we will have been compassing
you will have been compassing
they will have been compassing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been compassing
you had been compassing
he/she/it had been compassing
we had been compassing
you had been compassing
they had been compassing

Conditional
I would compass
you would compass
he/she/it would compass
we would compass
you would compass
they would compass

Past Conditional
I would have compassed
you would have compassed
he/she/it would have compassed
we would have compassed
you would have compassed
they would have compassed

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	compass - navigational instrument for finding directionsgyrocompass - a compass that does not depend on magnetism but uses a gyroscope insteadmagnetic compass - compass based on an indicator (as a magnetic needle) that points to the magnetic northnavigational instrument - an instrument used for navigating
	2.	compass - an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"; "a piano has a greater range than the human voice"; "the ambit of municipal legislation"; "within the compass of this article"; "within the scope of an investigation"; "outside the reach of the law"; "in the political orbit of a world power"ambit, range, scope, reach, orbitextent - the distance or area or volume over which something extends; "the vast extent of the desert"; "an orchard of considerable extent"approximate range, ballpark - near to the scope or range of something; "his answer wasn't even in the right ballpark"confines - a bounded scope; "he stayed within the confines of the city"contrast - the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness)internationality, internationalism - quality of being international in scope; "he applauded the internationality of scientific terminology"latitude - scope for freedom of e.g. action or thought; freedom from restrictionpurview, horizon, view - the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated; "It is beyond the horizon of present knowledge"expanse, sweep - a wide scope; "the sweep of the plains"gamut - a complete extent or range: "a face that expressed a gamut of emotions"spectrum - a broad range of related objects or values or qualities or ideas or activitiespalette, pallet - the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art
	3.	compass - the limit of capability; "within the compass of education"grasp, reach, rangecapableness, potentiality, capability - an aptitude that may be developedken, sight - the range of vision; "out of sight of land"
	4.	compass - drafting instrument used for drawing circlesdrafting instrument - an instrument used by a draftsman in making drawings
Verb	1.	compass - bring about; accomplish; "This writer attempts more than his talents can compass"archaicism, archaism - the use of an archaic expressionachieve, attain, accomplish, reach - to gain with effort; "she achieved her goal despite setbacks"
	2.	compass - travel around, either by plane or ship; "We compassed the earth"circumnavigatecircle - travel around something; "circle the globe"
	3.	compass - get the meaning of something; "Do you comprehend the meaning of this letter?"apprehend, comprehend, get the picture, grok, savvy, grasp, digunderstand - know and comprehend the nature or meaning of; "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means"figure - understand; "He didn't figure her"catch on, cotton on, get it, get onto, get wise, twig, latch on, tumble - understand, usually after some initial difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on"intuit - know or grasp by intuition or feelingdigest - arrange and integrate in the mind; "I cannot digest all this information"

compass

¹noun1. range, field, area, reach, scope, sphere, limit, stretch, bound, extent, zone, boundary, realm Within the compass of a book of this size, such a comprehensive survey is not practicable.

compass

Compass points

Compass Point

Abbreviation
North	N
North by East	N by E
North North East	NNE
North East by North	NE by N
North East	NE
North East by East	NE by E
East North East	ENE
East by North	E by N
East	E
East by South	E by S
East South East	ESE
South East by East	SE by E
South East	SE
South East by South	SE by S
South South East	SSE
South by East	S by E
South	S
South by West	S by W
South South West	SSW
South West by South	SW by S
South West	SW
South West by West	SW by W
West South West	WSW
West by South	W by S
West	W
West by North	W by N
West North West	WNW
North West by West	NW by W
North West	NW
North West by North	NW by N
North North West	NNW
North by West	N by W

Cardinal point

Related adjective
north	arctic or boreal
east	oriental
south	meridional or austral
west	occidental or hesperidan

compass

noun1. A line around a closed figure or area:ambit, circuit, circumference, perimeter, periphery.2. The ability or power to seize or attain:capacity, grasp, range, reach, scope.3. An area within which something or someone exists, acts, or has influence or power:ambit, extension, extent, orbit, purview, range, reach, realm, scope, sphere, sweep, swing.verb1. To encircle with or as if with a band:band, begird, belt, cincture, encompass, engirdle, gird, girdle, girt, ring.Archaic: engird.2. To shut in on all sides:begird, beset, circle, encircle, encompass, environ, gird, girdle, hedge, hem, ring, surround.3. To perceive and recognize the meaning of:accept, apprehend, catch (on), comprehend, conceive, fathom, follow, get, grasp, make out, read, see, sense, take, take in, understand.Informal: savvy.Slang: dig.Chiefly British: twig.Scots: ken.Idioms: get a handle on, get the picture.4. To perceive directly with the intellect:apprehend, comprehend, fathom, grasp, know, understand.Scots: ken.

Translations

罗盘范围圆规指南针界限

compass

(ˈkampəs) noun. 1. an instrument with a magnetized needle, used to find directions. If he had carried a compass he would not have lost his way on the hills. 罗盘，指南针 2. (in plural) an instrument with two movable legs, for drawing circles etc. 圆规3. scope or range. 界限，范围 compass rose the circular drawing showing directions on a plan or map. 罗经盘，表示方向的图案

compass

→ 罗盘zhCN

Compass

compass.

1 In mathematics, an instrument for making circles and measuring distances. Frequently called a pair of compasses, it consists of two metal legs with one end of each attached to a pivot to form a V-shaped device. The free ends are pointed; a pen or pencil may be substituted for one of the points. 2 In navigation, an instrument for determining direction. The mariner's compass consists of a magnetic needle freely suspended so that in the earth's magnetic field it turns until aligned with the magnetic north and south poles. Declination is the angle between the magnetic needle and the geographical meridian. Use of the compass by the early Chinese is probably legendary. The first known reference in European literature dates from the 12th cent. Another more accurate form of navigational compass is the gyrocompass. It consists essentially of a rapidly spinning, electrically driven rotor, suspended in such a way that its axis automatically points along the geographical meridian. The gyrocompass is unaffected by magnetic influences. This compass came into wide use in warships and aircraft during the Second World War. See gyroscopegyroscope
, symmetrical mass, usually a wheel, mounted so that it can spin about an axis in any direction. When spinning, the gyroscope has special properties. Many spinning objects exhibit some of these properties; the rotation of the earth about its axis gives it the
..... Click the link for more information. .

Compass

a direction-finding instrument. According to principle of operation, a distinction is made among magnetic compasses, which use the property of straight permanent magnets (magnetic pointers) or coils with electric current of assuming a north-south orientation along a magnetic meridian upon interaction with the earth’s magnetic field; gyrocompasses, which use the property of a rapidly spinning gyroscope rotor of maintaining a constant direction of its axis of rotation, which, under certain conditions, remains in the plane of a geographic meridian; celestial compasses, in which a special device (a direction finder) continuously tracks the location of some celestial body (for example, the sun), making possible determination of the direction of the geographic meridian if the geographic coordinates of the location are known; and radio compasses, which are radio receiving devices that automatically lock in the direction toward a radio beacon. Compasses are used in maritime and aircraft navigation (to determine the course of a vessel or aircraft and to find the direction toward a reference point), in overland travel, in military affairs, and in geodesy, topography, and mining.

The oldest and most widely known type of compass is the magnetic type. Permanent magnets were used in China more than 2,000 years ago to determine the north-south direction. In Europe the compass appeared not later than the 12th century; it consisted of a magnetic pointer attached to a cork floating in a water-filled vessel. During the early part of the 14th century the compass was improved: the magnetic pointer was placed on a point located in the center of a paper circle (a compass rose), which was graduated for convenient reading. The circle was subdivided first into 16 and later 32 equal sectors.

In the 16th century a gimbal suspension was introduced to reduce mechanical vibrations (for example, during rolling and pitching at sea). In the 17th century marine compasses were equipped with a direction finder—a rotating rule with sights at both ends—which facilitated accurate reading of directions or bearings. The improved magnetic compass became the main navigational instrument for determining the course of a ship. The reading accuracy of currently used ship’s magnetic compasses in medium latitudes and in the absence of pitch and roll can attain 0.3°˗0.5°.

An aircraft magnetic compass has the same basic parts as a ship’s compass, but the aircraft design takes into account some operational conditions peculiar to this type of service, such as possible strong vibrations and accelerations.

Among the disadvantages of a magnetic compass are the need to introduce reading corrections to compensate for the noncoincidence of the magnetic and geographic meridians (consideration of magnetic declination) and for deviation. Near the earth’s magnetic poles and strong magnetic anomalies the accuracy of the readings of a magnetic compass is drastically reduced; in such localities other types of compasses must be used. However, none of the types mentioned above can provide an accurate course reading in all areas of the earth, under any weather conditions, and for any state of the magnetosphere and radio interference level. For this reason it is customary in marine and air travel and military affairs to use a combination of several types of compasses; consolidated course-finding systems are based on such combined use.

REFERENCES

Anderson, E. Printsipy navigatsii. Moscow, 1968. (Translated from English.)
Seleznev, V. P. Navigatsionnye ustroistva. Moscow, 1961.

Compass

(in Russian, krontsirkul’ ), a drawing instrument for constructing circles 2–80 mm in diameter. There are drawing compasses with a screw joint between the measuring legs, as well as compasses that have a vertically mounted support leg and a movable measuring leg, whose position is fixed by a screw (the balerinka, or “little ballerina”).

Compass

(in Russian, tsirkul’), an instrument used to draw circles or arcs, to measure the lengths of line segments, to transfer dimensions, or to scale measured dimensions up or down.

The following main types of compasses are distinguished: dividers, drawing compasses, bow compasses, beam compasses, and proportional compasses (see Figure 1). Dividers, which do not have a pen or pencil point, are used to measure or transfer linear dimensions. Drawing compasses are employed to draw circles with diameters of up to 300 mm; bow compasses, circles with diameters of 2 to 80 mm; and beam compasses, circles with diameters of more than 300 mm. Proportional compasses make it possible to change the scale of measured dimensions.

Figure 1. Compasses: (a) divider, (b) bow compass, (c) proportional compass, (d) drawing compass, (e) drop compass (the balerinka, or “little ballerina”), (f) beam compass

Based on the evidence of drawn circles that have been preserved, the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians used compasses. In France, an iron compass was discovered in a Gallic barrow dating from the first century of the Common Era. Many bronze compasses used by the Romans during the first century of the Common Era were found in the ruins of Pompeii; they represent all the modern types of compasses. In addition to simple compasses, the Roman instruments include proportional compasses for enlarging or reducing the scale of measured dimensions and calipers for measuring the inside and outside diameters of objects.

In ancient Rus’, a compass-drawn ornament consisting of tiny perfect circles was widely used on articles made of bone. A compasslike steel cutter for scribing the ornament was found during archaeological excavations in Novgorod.

What does it mean when you dream about a compass?

Guidance. Finding one’s way out of situation in which one feels lost. We also talk about our “moral compass,” which guides us in making ethical choices.

compass

[′käm·pəs] (engineering) An instrument for indicating a horizontal reference direction relative to the earth. (graphic arts) An instrument used for describing arcs or circles with pencil or pen; has two legs hinged together at the top.

compass

compass An instrument for drawing circles, measuring the distance between two points, etc.; consists of two pointed legs, movable on a joint or pivot, usually made so that one of the points can be detached for the insertion of a pen, extension, etc.

compass

1. an instrument used for drawing circles, measuring distances, etc., that consists of two arms, joined at one end, one arm of which serves as a pivot or stationary reference point, while the other is extended or describes a circle 2. Music the interval between the lowest and highest note attainable by a voice or musical instrument

COMPASS

COMPrehensive ASSembler.

The assembly language on CDC computers.

See Compass

compass

com·pass

compass

com•pass

com·pass

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compass

Compass points

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box the compass

moral compass

box the compass

box the compass

Compass

compass.

Compass

REFERENCES

Compass

Compass

What does it mean when you dream about a compass?

compass

compass

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COMPASS

Compass

COMPASS

compass

Synonyms for compass

noun range

Synonyms

Synonyms for compass

noun a line around a closed figure or area

Synonyms

noun the ability or power to seize or attain

Synonyms

noun an area within which something or someone exists, acts, or has influence or power

Synonyms

verb to encircle with or as if with a band

Synonyms

verb to shut in on all sides

Synonyms

verb to perceive and recognize the meaning of

Synonyms

verb to perceive directly with the intellect

Synonyms

Synonyms for compass

noun navigational instrument for finding directions

Related Words

noun an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"

Synonyms

Related Words

noun the limit of capability

Synonyms

Related Words

noun drafting instrument used for drawing circles

Related Words

verb bring about

Related Words

verb travel around, either by plane or ship

Synonyms

Related Words

verb get the meaning of something

Synonyms

Related Words