• Compile

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /kÉ™mpʌɪl/
    • Rhymes: -aɪl

    Origin

    from Old French compiler (early 14c.), from Latin compilo ("heap, plunder")

    Full definition of compile

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To put together; to assemble; to make by gathering things from various sources.Samuel Johnson compiled one of the most influential dictionaries of the English language.
    2. (obsolete) To construct, build.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.3:Before that Merlin dyde, he did intend
        A brasen wall in compas to compyle
        About Cairmardin ....
    3. (transitive, computing) To use a compiler to process source code and produce executable code.After I compile this program I'll run it and see if it works.
    4. (intransitive, computing) To be successfully processed by a compiler into executable code.There must be an error in my source code because it won't compile.
    5. (obsolete, transitive) To contain or comprise.
      • SpenserWhich these six books compile.
    6. (obsolete) To write; to compose.

    Derived terms

    Noun

    compile

    (plural compiles)
    1. (computing) An act of compiling code.
      • 1985, Robert A Stern, An Introduction to Computers and Information Processing...programming team managers assumed the "improved programs" produced through structured programming would not require as many compiles during development.
      • 2007, Scott Meyers, Mike Lee, MAC OS X Leopard: Beyond the ManualAny file with an error or warning on it will be added to this smart group until the next compile.

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