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.

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.

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.

See also: compare, note

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!

See also: and, apple, compare, like, orange

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.

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.

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.

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]

See also: compare, note

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.

See also: compare, note

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.

See also: compare, note

compare notes

To exchange ideas, views, or opinions.

See also: compare, note

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.”