To compile means to gather information or items from different sources and put them together into a complete collection. When you compile a list of your favorite books, you're bringing together titles from everything you've read. When a teacher compiles student grades, she's collecting scores from tests, homework, and projects into one gradebook.

The word suggests careful organization and thoughtful arrangement. A researcher might compile data from hundreds of experiments. A historian could compile letters and documents to understand what life was like in the past. You might compile evidence to support your point in a debate, or compile photos into an album.

In computer programming, compile has a special technical meaning: it's the process of translating code that humans can read into instructions that computers can execute. A programmer writes instructions in a language like Python or Java, then a special program called a compiler translates it into the 1s and 0s that computers actually understand. This compiled program then runs on your computer or phone.

The related word compilation means a collection that someone has compiled, like a compilation album of greatest hits or a compilation of funny videos.