verb · neutral
compare
UK/kəmˈpeə(r)/US/kəmˈper/co·MPARE
to examine two or more things to see how they are similar or different
Examples
“In Task 1 you should compare the two charts and describe the main similarities and differences.”
“When asked to compare urban and rural incomes, mention both which is higher and why.”
“Before buying a laptop, I always compare prices across several websites.”
Band 8 sentence
“In my conclusion I will compare the environmental impacts of public transport and private cars and recommend the more sustainable option.”
Collocations
- compare A with B
- compare prices
- compare favourably with
Word family
Common mistakes
compare between A and B→compare A and B
compare to the previous year when talking about differences→compare with the previous year
He compare the two graphs every week.→He compares the two graphs every week.
Say it for a higher band
5look at→6examine→7+compare
Synonyms
contrast
examine
Easily confused
contrast
“When you contrast the two studies, the differences in methodology are obvious.”
Related words
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