com·pos·ite
käm-ˈpä-zət 
kəm-ˈpä-,
especially British
ˈkäm-pə-zit
1
: made up of distinct parts or elements
a composite photograph
composite materials
: such as
a
capitalized
: relating to or being a modification of the Corinthian order combining angular Ionic volutes with the acanthus-circled bell of the Corinthian
b
: of or relating to a very large family (Compositae synonym Asteraceae) of dicotyledonous herbs, shrubs, and trees often considered to be the most highly evolved plants and characterized by florets arranged in dense heads that resemble single flowers
c
: factorable into two or more prime factors other than 1 and itself
8 is a positive composite integer.
2
: combining the typical or essential characteristics of individuals making up a group
… the composite man called the Poet …—
Richard Poirier
Richard Poirier… the knight was a composite portrait of men whom Chaucer personally knew.—John Livingston Lowes
John Livingston Lowes3
of a statistical hypothesis
: specifying a range of values for one or more statistical parameters compare simple sense 10
4
of a video signal
: having two signal components (such as chrominance and luminance) combined in a single channel
For years, commercial television equipment has relied upon composite video cabling, which carries both brightness (luminance) and color (chroma) in a single cable. Problem is, before your television can produce a picture from this signal, it must be heavily filtered, resulting in serious degradation of image quality.—Home Theater Buyer's Guide
compare component entry 2 sense 2
Home Theater Buyer's Guide
compositely
adverb
1
: something composite : compound
a composite of two images
2
: a composite (see composite entry 1 sense 1b) plant
daisies, dandelions, and other composites
4
: a solid material which is composed of two or more substances having different physical characteristics and in which each substance retains its identity while contributing desirable properties to the whole
especially
: a structural material made of plastic within which a fibrous material (such as silicon carbide) is embedded
5
: an artist's sketch or digitally generated image of a criminal suspect usually created from witnesses' descriptions and used to help police identify and apprehend the suspect
a police composite
Police have released a composite of the suspect based on a description from the victim of the April 4 robbery.—Jim Jaworski
Jim Jaworski
composited; compositing
: to make composite or into something composite
composited four soil samples
composite the images
Synonyms
Adjective
Noun
- admixture
- alloy
- amalgam
- amalgamation
- blend
- cocktail
- combination
- compound
- conflation
- emulsion
- fusion
- intermixture
- meld
- mix
- mixture
- synthesis
Verb
Examples of composite in a Sentence
Adjective
the movie's special effects included the use of many composite photographs
Noun
a composite of diverse communities
He spotted a man who resembled the police composite.
Verb
wood chips can be composited or sold as mulch
Recent Examples on the WebJeanne Huber, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
More recently, composite photographs in Vanity Fair gave Reese Witherspoon three legs and Oprah Winfrey two left hands.
—Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 13 Mar. 2024
Compared to a year ago, the national composite index was also up, with prices 5.5% higher from December 2022.
—Anna Bahney, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
Doha, Qatar, ranked second on the list with a composite score of 165.
—Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The key was to use the composite structure of the BMW i8.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 12 Feb. 2024
Click by satisfying click, Paules snaps together the building blocks of childhood into stunning Lego doppelgängers that seem to defy their composite material.
—Joe Heim, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
The series, also based on Air Force records and interviews with 100th veterans, largely sticks to facts about the lives of its American protagonists, with an occasional composite character thrown in to keep the story moving.
—USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024
The two dunkers with the highest composite score from the first round will advance to the final round.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2024
Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2024
The Nasdaq composite fell 156.38, or 1%, to 16,240.45, and the small stocks in the Russell 2000 index tumbled 1.8%.
—Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
Voter preferences under the new maps are based on a composite of precinct-level election results in statewide general elections from 2016 through 2022.
—Andrew Hahn, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
His looks to be a composite of characters – something the filmmakers are upfront about.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024
The Nasdaq composite jumped 203.55, or 1.3%, to 15,859.15.
—Stan Choe, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024
As is typical for a Sigma lens, the barrel uses a mix of metal and composite, as well as has a black finish.
—PCMAG, 26 Mar. 2024
Products that work on wood or composites of wood and plastic may damage decking made or capped with PVC plastic.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%, pulling closer to its all-time high set in late 2021, as Big Tech stocks were some of the market's strongest.
—CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024
In compositing their stories, Durkin sets up the emotional catharsis of his film, an explosive confrontation moments after Kerry’s death in which Kevin physically takes out his anger and grief on his father.
—Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
As part of their analysis, the researchers composited the health outcomes into 10 organ systems: cardiovascular, coagulation and hematological, fatigue, gastrointestinal, kidney, mental health, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, and pulmonary.
—Carolyn Barber, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2023
The live-action scenes were then composited together using Photoshop, and set extensions were completed with Maya software.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
That's where Cameron's love of high-tech effects came into play: The actors performed the engine scenes in front of a green screen, and their images were composited into footage of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien blown up to the appropriate size.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 27 Apr. 2023
The movie’s water toolset, facial systems and depth compositing all received nods.
—Karen Idelson, Variety, 15 Feb. 2023
It’s not an exaggeration to say that today a creator can create a graphic or animation with their phone and composite it into a video with better resolution than what the creators of the 1990s TV show Babylon 5 could do.
—Nathaniel Hunter, Forbes, 25 Apr. 2022
Of the 21 Tide players ranked within the top 50 by 247 Sports’ industry composite the past three classes (2020-22), six have been outside linebackers -- two more than any other position group.
—Mike Rodak | Mrodak@al.com, al, 29 Mar. 2022
Adjective
For older decks with uncapped composite boards, Trex doesn’t have any fail-safe suggestions.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
More recently, composite photographs in Vanity Fair gave Reese Witherspoon three legs and Oprah Winfrey two left hands.
—Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge, 13 Mar. 2024
Compared to a year ago, the national composite index was also up, with prices 5.5% higher from December 2022.
—Anna Bahney, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024
Doha, Qatar, ranked second on the list with a composite score of 165.
—Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
The key was to use the composite structure of the BMW i8.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 12 Feb. 2024
Click by satisfying click, Paules snaps together the building blocks of childhood into stunning Lego doppelgängers that seem to defy their composite material.
—Joe Heim, Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
The series, also based on Air Force records and interviews with 100th veterans, largely sticks to facts about the lives of its American protagonists, with an occasional composite character thrown in to keep the story moving.
—USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024
The two dunkers with the highest composite score from the first round will advance to the final round.
—Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY, 17 Feb. 2024
Noun
In this composite of seven photographs, the moon passes by the sun during a total solar eclipse in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 8, 2024.
—Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2024
The Nasdaq composite fell 156.38, or 1%, to 16,240.45, and the small stocks in the Russell 2000 index tumbled 1.8%.
—Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024
Voter preferences under the new maps are based on a composite of precinct-level election results in statewide general elections from 2016 through 2022.
—Andrew Hahn, Journal Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2024
His looks to be a composite of characters – something the filmmakers are upfront about.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024
The Nasdaq composite jumped 203.55, or 1.3%, to 15,859.15.
—Stan Choe, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024
As is typical for a Sigma lens, the barrel uses a mix of metal and composite, as well as has a black finish.
—PCMAG, 26 Mar. 2024
Products that work on wood or composites of wood and plastic may damage decking made or capped with PVC plastic.
—Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
The Nasdaq composite rose 1.2%, pulling closer to its all-time high set in late 2021, as Big Tech stocks were some of the market's strongest.
—CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024
Verb
Prior to compositing to two metre lengths, high tin, silver, and lead values were capped for each zone individually.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Feb. 2024
In compositing their stories, Durkin sets up the emotional catharsis of his film, an explosive confrontation moments after Kerry’s death in which Kevin physically takes out his anger and grief on his father.
—Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
As part of their analysis, the researchers composited the health outcomes into 10 organ systems: cardiovascular, coagulation and hematological, fatigue, gastrointestinal, kidney, mental health, metabolic, musculoskeletal, neurological, and pulmonary.
—Carolyn Barber, Fortune, 14 Dec. 2023
The live-action scenes were then composited together using Photoshop, and set extensions were completed with Maya software.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
That's where Cameron's love of high-tech effects came into play: The actors performed the engine scenes in front of a green screen, and their images were composited into footage of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien blown up to the appropriate size.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 27 Apr. 2023
The movie’s water toolset, facial systems and depth compositing all received nods.
—Karen Idelson, Variety, 15 Feb. 2023
It’s not an exaggeration to say that today a creator can create a graphic or animation with their phone and composite it into a video with better resolution than what the creators of the 1990s TV show Babylon 5 could do.
—Nathaniel Hunter, Forbes, 25 Apr. 2022
Of the 21 Tide players ranked within the top 50 by 247 Sports’ industry composite the past three classes (2020-22), six have been outside linebackers -- two more than any other position group.
—Mike Rodak | Mrodak@al.com, al, 29 Mar. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'composite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing composite
Dictionary Entries Near composite
Cite this Entry
“Composite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/composite. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
composite
1 of 2 adjective
com·pos·ite
käm-ˈpäz-ət
kəm-
kəm-
1
: made up of various parts or elements
a composite photograph
2
: of or relating to a very large family of dicotyledonous plants (as a daisy or aster) that are characterized by flowers arranged in dense heads that resemble single flowers
3
: able to be factored into two or more prime factors other than 1 and itself
12 is a composite number since 2 × 2 × 3 = 12
composite
2 of 2 noun1
: something that is made up of different parts : compound
2
: a composite plant
More from Merriam-Webster on composite
Nglish: Translation of composite for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of composite for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about composite
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