Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun An instrument for describing circles, measuring figures, etc., consisting of two, or (rarely) more, pointed branches, or legs, usually joined at the top by a rivet on which they move.
  • noun See Bow-compass.
  • noun See Calipers.
  • noun See under Proportional, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of compass.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • After some investigation, you find that one of the compasses is located next to a strong magnet, which you have good reason to believe is strongly biasing that compass’s readings.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Example of Climate Work That Needs to be Checked and Replicated 2009

  • Verbal testimony connected his great poem of farewell and consolation, for example, “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” (with its famous image of the couple as “stiffe twin compasses”) with Donne’s departure for France in 1611.

    The Biographical Fallacy 2009

  • They compared these standards to devices such as compasses and t-squares, that artisans use to guide their work.

    Xunzi Robins, Dan 2007

  • It is observed, that the word surrounds, or "compasses," conveys, to an English reader, more than is meant by the sacred writer.

    Commentary on Genesis - Volume 1 1509-1564 1996

  • The task acre was commonly not a square of 210 feet, but a rectangle 300 feet long and 150 feet broad, divided into square halves and rectangular quarters, and further divisible into "compasses" five feet wide and 150 feet long, making one sixtieth of an acre.

    American Negro Slavery A Survey of the Supply, Employment and Control of Negro Labor as Determined by the Plantation Regime Ulrich Bonnell Phillips 1905

  • Those who like movies that handle sexuality with no moral compasses, meaning most French movies.

    Hurriyet Dailynews 2010

  • Wyche, along with her research team, chose to focus on Islam for this study, partially because of the religion's popularity worldwide and partially because Muslims have historically used technology such as compasses and telescopes to help them determine the direction to face during prayer.

    cellular-news 2009

  • Susan Wyche, a Georgia Institute of Technology doctoral candidate, said she and her colleagues focused on Islam, partially because of the religion's popularity and partially because Muslims have historically used technology, such as compasses and telescopes, to help them determine the direction to face during prayer.

    Breaking News - The Post Chronicle 2009

  • You'll find more standard weapons like axes, clubs, and pipes along with more fanciful fare such as compasses with pencils strapped on such as you may have used in school.

    IGN PC 2009

  • Wyche, along with her research team, chose to focus on Islam for this study, partially because of the religion's popularity worldwide and partially because Muslims have historically used technology such as compasses and telescopes to help them determine the direction to face during prayer.

    EurekAlert! - Breaking News 2009

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