compact.

closely arranged or fitted into a relatively small space

Use it for

Words that belong together

• compact city
• compact apartment
• compact layout

On the page

The compact apartment had a place for every tool.

A compact town clustered around the station.

The compact layout kept the rooms close to the courtyard.

Usage notes

Primary curation section: Setting. Suggests efficient concentration rather than necessarily uncomfortable crowding. The verb and noun have separate senses. Comparative: more compact; superlative: most compact. Related noun: compactness.