compare
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be as nothing (compared) to (someone or something)
To be unimportant or trivial compared to someone or something else. These new pieces are as nothing compared to his groundbreaking early works.
beyond compare
Unequalled or peerless. I'm not surprised that Molly won that scholarship—her intelligence is beyond compare.
beyond comparison
Unequalled or peerless. I'm not surprised that Molly won a full scholarship to that prestigious university—her intelligence is beyond comparison.
See also: beyond, comparison
compare (someone or something) to (someone or something)
To highlight the similarities between two people or things. Well, if Shakespeare can compare someone to a summer's day, then so can I! Unfortunately, I can only compare her performance to a train wreck.
compare (someone or something) with (someone or something)
To highlight the similarities between two people or things. Well, if Shakespeare can compare someone with a summer's day, then so can I! Unfortunately, I can only compare her performance with a train wreck.
See also: compare
compare apples and oranges
To try to highlight the similarities between two different things—which typically cannot be done. You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's comparing apples and oranges!
compare apples to oranges
To compare two unlike things or people. Stop comparing apples to oranges—those two companies you're talking about are completely different.
compare notes
To discuss one's feelings on or experience of someone or something with another person. This afternoon, we'll have to compare notes on the applicants we've interviewed so far.
compare notes on (someone or something)
To discuss one's feelings on or experience of someone or something with another person. This afternoon, we'll have to compare notes on the applicants we've interviewed so far.
like comparing apples and oranges
Highlighting the similarities and differences between two people or things that are not really comparable at all. You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's like comparing apples and oranges! Look, comparing the business model of a small local business to that of a giant global conglomerate is like comparing apples and oranges—they are two completely different things!
without compare
Unequalled or peerless. I'm not surprised that Molly won that scholarship—her intelligence is without compare.
without comparison
Unequalled or peerless. I'm not surprised that Molly won a full scholarship to that prestigious university—her intelligence is without comparison.
See also: comparison, without
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
compare notes on someone or something
to share observations on someone or something. We took a little time to compare notes on our ancestors and have discovered that we are cousins.
compare someone or something to someone or something
to liken people or things to other people or things; to say that some people or things have the same qualities as other people or things. (See the comment at compare someone or something with someone or something.) l can only compare him to a cuddly teddy bear. He compared himself to one of the knights of the round table.
compare someone or something with someone or something
to consider the sameness or difference of sets of things or people. (This phrase is very close in meaning to compare someone or something to someone or something, but for some connotes stronger contrast.) Let's compare the virtues of savings accounts with investing in bonds. When I compare Roger with Tom, I find very few similarities. Please compare Tom with Bill on their unemployment records.
See also: compare
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beyond comparison
Also, without comparison or beyond compare . Too superior to be compared, unrivaled, as in This view of the mountains is beyond comparison, or That bakery is without comparison. The first term, more common today than the much older variants, was first recorded in 1871. Without comparison goes back to 1340, and without compare to 1621.
See also: beyond, comparison
compare notes
Exchange information, observations, or opinions about something, as in Michael and Jane always compare notes after a department meeting. This term originally referred to written notes. [c. 1700]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
compare notes
exchange ideas, opinions, or information about a particular subject.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
beyond/without comˈpare
(literary) too good, beautiful, etc. to be compared with anyone or anything else: The loveliness of the scene was beyond compare.compare ˈnotes (with somebody)
exchange ideas or opinions with somebody, especially about shared experiences: We met after the exam to compare notes on how well we had done.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
compare notes
To exchange ideas, views, or opinions.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
apples and oranges, like comparing
Comparing two unlike objects or issues. This term, dating from the second half of the 1900s, has largely replaced the difference between chalk and cheese, at least in America. The latter expression of disparateness is much older, dating from the 1500s. Why apples and oranges, since they’re both fruits, and not some other object is unclear. Nevertheless, it has caught on and is on the way to being a cliché.
compare notes, to
To exchange opinions, impressions, or information. The original meaning referred to written notes, but the phrase soon included verbal exchanges as well. It was known by at least 1700. In 1712 Richard Steele wrote (in the Spectator), “They meet and compare notes upon your carriage.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
- be as nothing (compared) to (someone or something)
- be as nothing to
- give (one) an/the edge on (someone or something)
- insignificance
- fade into insignificance
- an/the advantage over (someone or something)
- have the advantage over (someone or something)
- an/the edge on (someone or something)
- an/the edge over (someone or something)
- all the