complement

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction
  2. noun a complete number or quantity
  3. noun number needed to make up a whole force

Etymology

From Middle English complement, from Latin complēmentum (“that which fills up or completes”), from compleō (“to fill up; to complete”) (English complete). Doublet of compliment. The verb is from the noun.

In classic literature

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading