compassing

C3O1M3P3A1S1S1I1N1G2

adjective

curved; bent

“compassing timbers”

Scrabble 17

Meanings

verb
  1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of compass
adjectivecompassing (comparative more compassing, superlative most compassing)

comparative more compassing · superlative most compassing

  1. businesscurved; bent

    compassing timbers

nouncompassing (plural compassings)

plural compassings

  1. datedThe forming of plots or schemes; machination.
    1 more example

    If this proposition needed a reply, it would be sufficient to point to what we have already shown. But take the external circumstances surrounding the case, and they discover that inward intention of the prisoner. His deliberate compassings, the nature and character of the act done, the deliberation shown in preparing for the deed, the state and condition of his mind at the time—all these show express malice.

    1878, Texas. Court of Appeals, Alexander Melvorne Jackson, Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of the State of Texas

Origin

  1. Middle Englishcompassynge
  2. Englishcompassing

From Middle English compassynge; equivalent to compass + -ing.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

compassing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compassing

MLA

“compassing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compassing. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “compassing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/compassing.

Source: compassing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.