compartment

UK: /kəmˈpɑː^rtmənt/ US: /kəmˈpɑrtmənt/ ,(kəm pärt′mənt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•part•ment /kəmˈpɑrtmənt/   n. [countable]

1. a separate room, section, part, etc.

com•part•men•tal /kəmpɑrtˈmɛntəl/  adj. See -par-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

com•part•ment  (kəm pärt′mənt), n. 

1. a part or space marked or partitioned off.
2. a separate room, section, etc.:
   a baggage compartment.
3. Rail Transport [U.S. Railroads.] a private bedroom with toilet facilities.
4. a separate aspect, function, or the like:
   the compartments of the human mind.
5. Architecture a distinct major division of a design.
6. Heraldry a decorative base, as a grassy mound, on which the supporters of an escutcheon stand or rest.

v.t. 

7. to divide into compartments.

• Italian compartimento. See compart, -ment
• Middle French compartiment
• 1555–65

Synonyms

• 1. division, section.
• 1, 2. See apartment. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

compartment / kəmˈpɑːtmənt/ noun

1. one of the sections into which an area, esp an enclosed space, is divided or partitioned
2. any separate part or section: a compartment of the mind
3. a small storage space; locker

Etymology: 16th Century: from French compartiment, ultimately from Late Latin compartīrī to share, from Latin com- with + partīrī to apportion, from pars part

compartmental / ˌkɒmpɑːtˈmɛnt^əl/ adjective

ˌcompartˈmentally adverb