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# compass

«compass» in Mova's school dictionary: **An instrument with a magnetic needle that always points…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a compass, compasses; compasses or a pair of compasses — the drawing tool)

### meaning for a pupil

1) An instrument with a magnetic needle that always points north, used to find directions. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#m1)

2) A tool with two arms, one with a point and one with a pencil, used to draw circles; in British English often called "compasses" or "a pair of compasses". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#m2)

3) "Compass points" are north, south, east and west. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#m3)

4) To compass something is to achieve or bring it about, an old-fashioned use. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In geography and outdoor safety, a compass and map help you find your way; the four main points are north, east, south and west, often remembered as "Never Eat Soggy Weetabix" or "Never Eat Shredded Wheat". In science, a compass works because the Earth is like a giant magnet. In maths, you draw circles with compasses and set the arms apart to the radius. Phrases: compass points, compass needle, read a compass, moral compass.

### examples

- The compass needle points north. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x1)
- We used a map and compass on the hike. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x2)
- Set the compasses to 5 centimetres to draw a circle with a radius of 5 cm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x3)
- The four compass points are north, south, east and west. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x4)
- Keep magnets away from the compass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x5)
- The sailors steered by compass. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x6)
- He has more cleverness than ten thousand men, and he found means to compass his end. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/#x7)

### note

Countable: a compass, compasses. In maths, the gap between the compass point and pencil is the radius, so the circle's width (diameter) is twice that. A compass points to magnetic north, which is close to, but not exactly, the North Pole. Safety: compasses for drawing have a sharp point.

### In the corpora

- [A compass needle points roughly north.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/16-landmarks/13/)
- [From the late 1200s, sailors in the Mediterranean used portolan charts, sea maps with coastlines and criss-crossing compass lines.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/1-maps-and-scale/15/)
- [Gerardus Mercator published his famous world map in 1569, and on it a straight line is a line of constant compass bearing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/3-projections-why-greenland-looks-huge/6/)
- [The Chinese discovered that a magnetised needle points north and later used compasses for sailing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/10-ancient-china-paper-silk-the-silk-road-and-confucius/13/)
- [Open your pencil case: paper in your notebook, printed words on the cover, maybe a compass on your ruler.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/53-china-the-four-great-inventions/2/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «compass» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/compass/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.