compass

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He talks hope from Obama having a moral "compass" and the compass is the most recognized and enigmatic symbol of all Freemasonry, this could have been a slip of the tongue.

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Definitions (87)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (14)

  1. noun 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.
  2. noun Another device, such as a radio compass or a gyrocompass, used for determining geographic direction.
  3. noun 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.
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Examples (50)

  • Entering Cleveland Bay, the compass was again very much disturbed; the cause was found to be Magnetical, now Magnetic, Island, lying just off the present Port of Townsville. —  The Life of Captain James Cook
  • He talks hope from Obama having a moral "compass" and the compass is the most recognized and enigmatic symbol of all Freemasonry, this could have been a slip of the tongue. —  Alex Jones' Prison Planet.com
  • It seems like the compass is a bit out of whack ... i set it to head up and the N for north points south when i'm facing north. —  MoDaCo WinMo News
  • The four pints of the compass is all plain sailing to 'im; and his 'airbreadth escapes is too h'awful. —  The Bishop's Secret
  • She never lies, she don't He seemed to consider my interrogatory as a direct insinuation that his compass was an imperfect one, and hence his indignation. —  The Prairie Traveler A Hand-book for Overland Expeditions
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

telescope ·  dial ·  breadth ·  barometer ·  gauge ·  instrument ·  scope ·  dimension ·  extent ·  map ·  thermometer ·  indicator
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. 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.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. Early modern English also cumpasse; from Middle English compas, cumpas, a circle, circuit, limit, form, a mathematical instrument (also contrivance, cunning: see compass; v., 4), = D. Danish kompas = German compass = Swedish kompass, a mariners' compass, from Old French compas, French compas = Provencal Spanish compas = Portuguese compasso, compaço = Italian compasso, from Middle Latin compassus, a circle, a circuit, from Latin com-, together, + passus, a pace, step, later a pass, way, route: see pass, pace.
  2. Early modern English also cumpasse; from Middle English compassen, cumpassen, go around, make a circuit, draw a circle, contrive, intend, from Old French compasser, French compasser = Provencal Portuguese compassar = Spanish compasar = Italian compassare; from the noun: see compass, n.
  3. Short for in (or to) a (or the) compass: see compass, n.
 

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/ˈkəmpɑs/
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