comprise

comprise
   "Beneath Sequoia is the Bechtel Group, a holding company comprised of three main operating arms" (New York Times). Not quite. It is composed of three main operating arms, not comprised of them. Comprised ofisz common expression, but it is always wrong. Comprise means to contain. The whole comprises the parts and not vice versa. A house may comprise seven rooms, but seven rooms do not comprise a house-and still less is a house comprised of seven rooms. The example above should be either "a holding company comprising three main operating arms" or "composed of three main operating arms."

Dictionary of troublesome word. . 2013.

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  • comprise — 1. Comprise is often confused with compose, consist, and constitute. All four words are used to describe how parts make up a whole, but they start from different ends of the equation. Comprise has the whole as its subject and its parts as the… …   Modern English usage

  • Comprise — Com*prise , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Comprised}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Comprising}.] [From F. compris, comprise, p. p. of comprendre, L. comprehendere. See {Comprehend}.] To comprehend; to include. [1913 Webster] Comprise much matter in few words. Hocker …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • comprise — I verb aggregate, amount to, be composed of, be formed of, be made of, consist of, constitute, contain, embody, embrace, encapsulate, encompass, hold, include, incorporate, involve, subsume, total associated concepts: comprising a cause of action …   Law dictionary

  • comprise — ► VERB 1) be made up of; consist of. 2) (also be comprised of) make up; constitute. USAGE Traditionally, comprise means ‘consist of’ and should not be used to mean ‘constitute or make up (a whole)’. However, a passive use of comprise is becoming… …   English terms dictionary

  • comprise — early 15c., to include, from O.Fr. compris, pp. of comprendre to contain, comprise (12c.), from L. comprehendere (see COMPREHEND (Cf. comprehend)). Related: Comprised; comprising …   Etymology dictionary

  • comprise — UK US /kəmˈpraɪz/ verb [T] ► to have as parts or members, or to be those parts or members: »Teams are created to work on one specific project, and are comprised of people who have very different skills. »Manufacturing comprises 14% of the state s …   Financial and business terms

  • comprise — [v] make up, consist of add up to, amount to, be composed of, be contained in, compass, compose, comprehend, constitute, contain, cover, embody, embrace, encircle, enclose, encompass, engross, form, hold, include, incorporate, involve, span,… …   New thesaurus

  • comprise — [kəm prīz′] vt. comprised, comprising [ME comprisen < OFr compris, pp. of comprendre < L comprehendere,COMPREHEND] 1. to include; contain 2. to consist of; be composed of [a nation comprising thirteen states] 3. to make up; form; constitute …   English World dictionary

  • comprise — verb (not in progressive) formal 1 (linking verb) to consist of particular parts, groups etc: The house comprises 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. | be comprised of: The city s population is largely comprised of Asians and Europeans. 2… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Comprise — Wikipedia does not have an encyclopedia article for Comprise (search results). You may want to read Wiktionary s entry on Comprise instead.wiktionary:Special:Search/Comprise …   Wikipedia

  • comprise — /kəmˈpraɪz / (say kuhm pruyz) verb (t) (comprised, comprising) 1. to comprehend; include; contain: an analysis comprising all the data to hand. 2. to consist of; be composed of: *Mr Namaliu said the security forces, which comprise troops, police… …  

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