Meaning of compare In English

• 0 to examine or look for the difference between two or more things:

  • If you compare house prices in the two areas, it's quite amazing how different they are.

  • That seems expensive - have you compared prices in other shops?

  • Compare some recent work with your older stuff and you'll see how much you've improved.

  • This road is quite busy compared to/with ours.

  • Children seem to learn more interesting things compared to/with when we were at school.

• 1 to judge, suggest, or consider that something is similar or of equal quality to something else:

  • The poet compares his lover's tongue to a razor blade.

  • Still only 25, she has been compared to the greatest dancer of all time.

  • People compared her to Elizabeth Taylor.

  • You can't compare the two cities - they're totally different.

  • Instant coffee just doesn't compare with freshly ground coffee.

  • The hotel certainly compared favourably with the one we stayed in last year.

• 2 so good that everyone or everything else is of worse quality:

  • Her beauty is beyond compare.

• 3 to examine or look for the differences between persons or things:

  • This store’s prices are high compared to what some other stores charge.

• 4 to consider or suggest that something is similar or equal to something else:

  • [ I ] Instant coffee doesn’t compare with freshly ground coffee (= fresh coffee is much better).