composition

noun com·po·si·tion \ˌkäm-pə-ˈzi-shən\

: the way in which something is put together or arranged : the combination of parts or elements that make up something

: a piece of writing; especially : a brief essay written as a school assignment

: a written piece of music and especially one that is very long or complex

Full Definition of COMPOSITION

a : the act or process of composing; specifically : arrangement into specific proportion or relation and especially into artistic form

b (1) : the arrangement of type for printing <hand composition> (2) : the production of type or typographic characters (as in photocomposition) arranged for printing

a : the manner in which something is composed

b : general makeup <the changing ethnic composition of the city — Leonard Buder>

c : the qualitative and quantitative makeup of a chemical compound

: mutual settlement or agreement

: a product of mixing or combining various elements or ingredients

: an intellectual creation: as

a : a piece of writing; especially : a school exercise in the form of a brief essay

b : a written piece of music especially of considerable size and complexity

: the quality or state of being compound

: the operation of forming a composite function; also : composite function

— com·po·si·tion·al \-ˈzish-nəl, -ˈzi-shə-n^əl\ adjective

— com·po·si·tion·al·ly adverb

See composition defined for English-language learners

See composition defined for kids

Origin of COMPOSITION

Middle English composicioun, from Anglo-French composicion, from Latin composition-, compositio, from componere

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to COMPOSITION

Synonyms: number, opus, piece, work

Other Printing Terms

epigraph, errata, leader, mechanical, notch, tittle, underscore, widow

Rhymes with COMPOSITION

acoustician, acquisition, admonition, aesthetician, air-condition, ammunition, apparition, apposition, coalition, co-edition, competition, cosmetician, decommission, decondition, definition, demolition, deposition, dietitian, disposition, disquisition, electrician, erudition, exhibition, expedition, exposition, extradition, first edition, imposition, in addition, inanition, in commission, inhibition, inquisition, intermission, intromission, intuition, linguistician, logistician, malnutrition, malposition, manumission, mathematician, mechanician, micturition, obstetrician, on commission, opposition, Ordovician, parturition, politician, precognition, precondition, premonition, preposition, proposition, recognition, recondition, repetition, requisition, rescue mission, rhetorician, self-ignition, statistician, submunition, superstition, supposition, text edition, trade edition, transposition

COMPOSITION Defined for Kids

composition

noun com·po·si·tion \ˌkäm-pə-ˈzi-shən\

Definition of COMPOSITION for Kids

: a short piece of writing done as a school exercise

: the act of writing words or music

: the manner in which the parts of a thing are put together : makeup, constitution <The president discussed the population's changing composition.> <Each rock has a slightly different composition.>

: a literary, musical, or artistic production