compensate
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1 to make up for a problem (v.) B2 Upper Intermediate Academicto provide something good to balance out something bad or missing.
to counterbalance or offset a deficiency, error, or negative effect with an equivalent positive force.
ExampleHis great enthusiasm for the project helped to compensate for his lack of experience.
ExampleThe company's high salary offerings were designed to compensate for the high cost of living in the city center.
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2 to pay for work or loss (v.) C1 Advanced Formal Lawto pay someone money because they worked for you or because they suffered a loss.
to provide financial payment or other valuable consideration in exchange for services rendered or as restitution for damages.
ExampleThe airline had to compensate the passengers for the long flight delay.
ExampleThe court ordered the firm to compensate the victims of the industrial accident for their medical expenses and lost wages.
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3 to adjust for a change (v.) C1 Advanced Technical Scienceto change how something works to handle a new situation or a problem.
to make an adjustment in a system or behavior to offset the influence of an external factor or internal failure.
ExampleThe pilot had to compensate for the strong winds while landing the plane.
ExampleThe software automatically compensates for lens distortion to ensure the final image appears perfectly flat.
Borrowed from Latin compēnsātus, perfect passive participle of compensō (“to weight together one thing against another, balance, make good”), -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more.
Often used with the preposition 'for' when referring to balancing a deficiency. The verb is transitive when referring to payment ('compensate someone').
He compensated his lack of experience with hard work.He compensated for his lack of experience with hard work.When the verb means to offset a negative quality, it requires the preposition 'for' before the noun phrase.