What does compartment mean?
A compartment is a self-contained section carved out of a larger space — a pocket within a suitcase, an enclosure in a train carriage, a shelf inside a toolbox — each holding its contents apart from everything else. The word carries a practical, everyday flavor: we stow maps in the glove compartment, pack toiletries into separate compartments of a washbag, and read seat numbers printed above each compartment of a carriage. Beyond physical spaces, English also uses compartment figuratively, describing people who keep their work life, friendships, or emotions in neatly separated mental compartments, never letting them mix. That figurative sense usually implies deliberate isolation, sometimes with a hint of criticism. Derived forms such as compartmental and the verb compartmentalize extend this idea, with compartmentalization often used in psychology and organizational contexts. Few everyday nouns manage to be at once so concrete and so psychologically suggestive.
A separate section or enclosed division of a larger space or container.
"The pilot stored the charts in an overhead compartment before takeoff."
Commonly modified by another noun naming the vehicle or container: glove compartment, luggage compartment, engine compartment.
(Figurative) A distinct area of a person's life or mind kept deliberately separate from others.
"She kept her charity work and corporate career in entirely separate compartments."
Regular plural; standard in both British and American English.
"The briefcase has several compartments for organizing documents."
The glove compartment got its name because it was originally meant to hold driving gloves — not the clutter of registration papers and ketchup packets it houses today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of compartment
Compartment entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed from French 'compartiment', which itself derives from Italian 'compartimento', from the verb 'compartire' meaning 'to divide'. At root lies Latin 'partiri', 'to divide or share out', built on 'pars', meaning 'part'. This makes compartment a cousin of words like partition, partial, participate, and impart — all tracing back to that same Latin notion of dividing into parts.
Related word forms
How compartment is actually used
Primarily neutral in register and common in everyday speech, especially for vehicles and storage. The figurative use — treating parts of one's mind or life as isolated compartments — often carries a slightly critical tone, implying emotional avoidance or rigid separation. The verb 'compartmentalize' handles most figurative expressions.
Easily confused with compartment
Compartmentalize is the derived verb meaning to divide into compartments or isolate mentally, whereas compartment is the noun for one of those divisions.