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compare
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.
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
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.
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.
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]
compare notes
To exchange ideas, views, or opinions.