What does comprising mean?
Comprising is the present participle of the verb comprise, meaning to consist of, contain, or be made up of a set of parts or elements that together form a whole. In practice, it appears most often in formal and descriptive writing — legal texts, reports, reference works — where a writer enumerates what something consists of, as in 'a jury comprising nine members' or 'an anthology comprising thirty stories'. The word carries a precise logical structure that distinguishes it from close neighbours: the whole comprises its parts, whereas the parts compose the whole, and 'comprise' implies completeness where 'include' allows for partial listing. Derived from Latin roots shared with 'comprehend' and 'comprehensive', it has been part of English since at least the early modern period and remains a staple of careful, authoritative prose. Used correctly, comprising signals precision and formal command of language.
verb (present participle of comprise)Consisting of or being made up of; to contain or include all the specified parts or elements within a whole.
- As the -ing form of comprise: forming or constituting a whole made up of the stated parts ('a committee comprising seven members').
- As the -ing form of comprise in its broader sense: embracing or encompassing elements within a larger entity.
"The delegation, comprising twelve delegates from six countries, arrived on Monday morning."
"The new anthology comprises forty poems spanning three centuries."
"The European Union currently comprises twenty-seven member states."
Getting 'comprise' backwards is one of English usage guides' most beloved bugbears — the whole always comprises the parts, never the reverse.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of comprising
Comprising descends from the verb comprise, which entered English in the early modern period (attested by the 17th century) from French comprendre, itself drawn from Latin comprehendere, meaning 'to grasp or take in together'. This Latin root also yields cognates such as comprehend, comprehensive, and comprehension, all sharing the idea of seizing or taking in a whole. In English, comprise settled into the specific sense of a whole consisting of clearly identifiable parts, giving rise to the participle form comprising used to describe such constitution.
Related word forms
How comprising is actually used
Comprising is the present participle and gerund form of comprise, so it typically appears in formal or descriptive contexts — legal documents, reports, encyclopedic writing — rather than casual conversation. It is frequently used after a subject noun to enumerate that subject's constituents: 'a team comprising four engineers'. Usage authorities caution against following it (or its base form) with 'of' in the sense of 'being composed of', since strictly the whole comprises the parts, not vice versa.
Easily confused with comprising
The whole comprises its parts, while the parts compose the whole: 'England comprises counties', but 'counties compose England'.
To comprise means the listed items constitute the entire whole, whereas to include means the listed items are merely some of the whole's contents.