How do you use the word "compile" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "compile" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "compile": Compile an essay on that topic within a fixed number of letters. We should compile a list of everybody who would be willing to help.

Compile Meaning

/kəmˈpaɪl/

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

verbTo make by gathering pieces from various sources.

verbTo construct; to build.

Sentence Examples

Compile an essay on that topic within a fixed number of letters.

We should compile a list of everybody who would be willing to help.

We are trying to compile a list of suitable people for the job.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

collect compose accumulate

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The programmer must ____ all data from the sensors before running the simulation.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

I need to ____ all the financial data into one easy-to-read report.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English compilen, from Old French compiler, from Latin compīlō (“to plunder”).

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"So what is it that makes SBB (Swiss national railways) tick? In my humble opinion, two things. Firstly, a comprehensive and set-in-stone integrated timetable (incorporating trains, ferries, cable cars and buses, including the world-famous yellow 'post-autos'), compiled four years in advance and which gets tested twice before it becomes operational." — 2025 October 15, Vitali Vitaliev, “The recipe for Swiss bliss”, in RAIL, number 1046, page 68:

"Before that Merlin dyde, he did intend / A brasen wall in compas to compyle / About Cairmardin […]" — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

"After ſo long a race as I haue run / Through Faery land, vvhich thoſe ſix books cõpile [compile] / giue leaue to reſt me being halfe fordonne, / and gather to my ſelfe nevv breath avvhile." — 1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet LXXX”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature F, verso:

"They are at their leisure much given to poetry; in which they compile the praises of virtuous men and actions , satires against vice" — 1690, William Temple, Miscellanea. The Second Part. […], London: […] T. M. for Ri[chard] and Ra[lph] Simpson, […], →OCLC, section II, page 188:

"[…] programming team managers assumed the "improved programs" produced through structured programming would not require as many compiles during development." — 1985, Robert A Stern, An Introduction to Computers and Information Processing:

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