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compare

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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.

See also: compare, note, on

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.

See also: compare

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

compare apples and oranges

to examine the similarities of things that are completely different Comparing the average wages of workers and managers is like trying to compare apples and oranges.

Usage notes: usually used to explain that two things cannot be compared

See also: and, apple, compare, orange

compare notes

to exchange information and opinions We met at the coffee shop to compare notes on our new boss. The two sisters always compared notes.

See also: compare, note

compare notes

if two people compare notes, they tell each other what they think about something that they have both done We'd had the same boyfriend at different times in our life so it was quite interesting to compare notes.

See also: compare, note

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]

See also: compare, note

compare notes

To exchange ideas, views, or opinions.

See also: compare, note