{ "term": "compare", "partOfSpeech": "verb", "ox3000": true, "cefr": "a1", "verbForms": { "presentSimple": { "iYouWeThey": "compare", "heSheIt": "compares" }, "pastSimple": "compared", "pastParticiple": "compared", "ingForm": "comparing" }, "definitions": [ { "senseNumber": 1, "definition": "to examine people or things to see how they are similar and how they are different", "sensetop": "compare A and Bcompare A with/to B", "cefr": "a1", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "It is interesting to compare their situation and ours.", "contextForm": "compare A and B" }, { "text": "We compared the two reports carefully." }, { "text": "Online grocery shopping allows you to compare prices more easily." }, { "text": "How can you compare the two things? They are so different!" }, { "text": "**Compare and contrast** the characters of Jack and Ralph." }, { "text": "We **compared the results** of our study with those of other studies.", "contextForm": "compare A with/to B" }, { "text": "My own problems seem insignificant **compared with** other people's." }, { "text": "I've had some difficulties, but they were **nothing compared to** yours *(= they were not nearly as bad as yours)*." }, { "text": "Standards in healthcare have improved enormously compared to 40 years ago." }, { "text": "They receive just over three years of schooling, **compared to** a national **average** of 7.3." }, { "text": "an increase of over 11% **compared to** the same **period** last year" }, { "text": "About a third of American adults are obese **compared with** 24 **per cent** of Britons" }, { "text": "We carefully compared the first report with the second." }, { "text": "The study was designed to compare the performance of the two methods." }, { "text": "Before purchasing an insurance policy, be sure to compare the rates offered by the different companies." }, { "text": "The clinical trial compared two groups of children aged between 8 and 10." } ], "collocations": { "adverb": ["favourably/​favorably", "well", "unfavourably/​unfavorably"], "verb + compare": ["cannot", "do not"], "preposition": ["with"], "phrases": [ "compare and contrast", "be nothing compared to somebody/​something", "nothing compares to somebody/​something" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 2, "definition": "to be similar to somebody/something else, either better or worse", "sensetop": "compare with/to somebody/something", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "This school compares with the best in the country *(= it is as good as them)*." }, { "text": "This house doesn't compare with our previous one *(= it is not as good)*." }, { "text": "Their prices **compare favourably** to those of their competitors." }, { "text": "The region's wines compare well with those from elsewhere in Germany." }, { "text": "Few things compare with the joy of walking on a bright spring morning." }, { "text": "The city compares favourably with other cities in Brazil." }, { "text": "These mountains do not compare with the Himalayas." }, { "text": "Athletics just can't compare with professional sport in terms of material gain." }, { "text": "Nothing compares with the sight of your child swimming for the first time." }, { "text": "Our productivity compares well with our UK competitors'." }, { "text": "This Roman gold doesn't compare to a recent find by a local farmer, which is worth millions." }, { "text": "This government's record compares favourably with that of our predecessors." }, { "text": "Average speeds for the journey compare unfavourably with the rest of the rail network." }, { "text": "How do these results compare with last year's?" }, { "text": "Few trees can compare with our native rowan for ease of cultivation." }, { "text": "The profit of £23 million compares with a £32 million loss in the previous financial year." } ], "collocations": { "adverb": ["favourably/​favorably", "well", "unfavourably/​unfavorably"], "verb + compare": ["cannot", "do not"], "preposition": ["with"], "phrases": [ "compare and contrast", "be nothing compared to somebody/​something", "nothing compares to somebody/​something" ] } }, { "senseNumber": 3, "definition": "to show or state that somebody/something is similar to somebody/something else", "sensetop": "compare A to B", "cefr": "b2", "ox3000": true, "examples": [ { "text": "The critics compared his work to that of Martin Amis." }, { "text": "In her early career she was often compared to Ella Fitzgerald." }, { "text": "Some observers compare the situation to that of the early 1980s." } ], "collocations": { "adverb": ["favourably/​favorably", "well", "unfavourably/​unfavorably"], "verb + compare": ["cannot", "do not"], "preposition": ["with"], "phrases": [ "compare and contrast", "be nothing compared to somebody/​something", "nothing compares to somebody/​something" ] } }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "if two or more people compare notes, they each say what they think about the same event, situation, etc.", "examples": [ { "text": "We saw the play separately and compared notes afterwards." }, { "text": "Let's compare notes on our experiences." } ] }, { "senseNumber": null, "definition": "it is impossible to say that one thing is better than another if the two are completely different", "labels": "(North American English)", "examples": [ { "text": "They are both great but you can't compare apples and oranges." }, { "text": "No, you’re trying to compare apples and oranges." } ] } ], "pronunciations": { "uk": [ { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈpeə(r)/", "audio": "co/compare/compare__gb_3.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈpeəz/", "audio": "co/compare/compares__gb_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈpeəd/", "audio": "co/compare/compared__gb_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈpeərɪŋ/", "audio": "co/compare/comparing__gb_1.mp3" } ], "us": [ { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈper/", "audio": "co/compare/compare__us_2.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈperz/", "audio": "co/compare/compares__us_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈperd/", "audio": "co/compare/compared__us_1.mp3" }, { "pronunciation": "/kəmˈperɪŋ/", "audio": "co/compare/comparing__us_1.mp3" } ] }, "wordOrigin": "late Middle English: from Old French comparer, from Latin comparare, from compar ‘like, equal’, from com- ‘with’ + par ‘equal’." }