verb (used with object), com·piled, com·pil·ing.
- to put together (documents, selections, or other materials) in one book or work.
- to make (a book, writing, or the like) of materials from various sources: to compile an anthology of plays; to compile a graph showing changes in profit.
- to gather together: to compile data.
- Computers. to translate (a computer program) from a high-level language into another language, usually machine language, using a compiler.
verb (tr)
- to make or compose from other materials or sourcesto compile a list of names
- to collect or gather for a book, hobby, etc
- computing to create (a set of machine instructions) from a high-level programming language, using a compiler
early 14c., from Old French compiler “compile, collect” (13c.), from Latin compilare “to plunder, rob,” probably originally “bundle together, heap up;” hence “to pack up and carry off,” from com- “together” (see com-) + pilare “to compress, ram down.” Related: Compiled; compiling.