composite

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is now pronounced kom-pǝ-zit, not -ziyt.

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1. in financial analysis, a balance sheet and/or profit and loss statement representing averages of the accounts of a number of companies in the same industry. The accounts of a particular company can thus be compared with a composite to identify abnormalities.

2. an index or average combining other indexes or averages. For example, the new york stock exchange Composite Index combines the NYSE Finance, Industrials, Transportation, and Utilities indexes.

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adjective

Consisting of two or more interconnected parts: complex, compound. See simple/complex.

noun

The result of combining: combination, compound, conjugation, unification, union, unity. See assemble/disassemble.

adj

Definition: combined, mixed
Antonyms: homogeneous, simple, unblended, uncombined, uniform, unmixed

Traditionally, scientists have classified materials in three classes: metals, plastics, and ceramics. Metals are tough, used mainly for their strength and stiffness; plastics are light and cheap to manufacture; and ceramics are hard, good electrical insulators, and resistant to heat and to corrosion. In recent years, scientists have created materials that do not fit the traditional classifications and that have entirely new properties. High-temperature superconductors are striking examples: They are ceramics that are insulators at room temperature but become superconducting at low temperatures.

Composite materials are combinations of materials from different classes that have properties different from or better than either of their parents. The idea is not new. When the Israelites in Egypt made bricks from clay and straw, the product was a composite.

About 1918 A. A. Griffith discovered that thin glass fibers are very strong but easily broken by any surface damage. Eventually inventors learned to protect the strong fibers with various coatings that enabled them to be treated like other textile fibers. But the real breakthrough came when the fibers became the basis of a composite. The composite of glass fibers and resin, popular for construction of boats and automobile bodies, is commonly called fiberglass. This material combines the low weight and corrosion resistance of plastic with the tensile strength of glass fibers. Similar composites of carbon fiber and resin have the toughness of steel but are four times lighter; these composites are now widely used in aircraft construction and such specialized applications as fishing rods. This type of carbon fiber used was first created in 1963. By the 1970s "graphite" composites of carbon fiber and epoxy were replacing up to three-quarters of the mass of jet fighter aircraft.

Another fiber with considerable military applications is Kevlar, the tough plastic discovered by Stephanie Kwolek in 1976. It is best known through its application in bulletproof vests, but it also lends its toughness to composite materials similar to fiberglass or graphite-epoxy.

Although not usually thought of as composites, semiconductor devices develop their essential properties as a result of inserting small amounts of one kind of atom into bulk materials of a different atom, a process called doping. The modern electronics industry is based almost entirely on silicon doped with such atoms as arsenic or boron.

A combination of conventional materials such as gypsum with reinforcement fibers such as carbon or glass so as to provide the material with greater strength.

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A grouping of equities, indexes or other factors combined in a standardized way, providing a useful statistical measure of overall market or sector performance over time. Also known as a "composite index".

Investopedia Says:
Usually, a composite index has a large number of factors which are averaged together to form a product representative of an overall market or sector. For example, the Nasdaq Composite index is a market capitalization-weighted grouping of approximately 5,000 stocks listed on the Nasdaq market. These indexes are useful tools for measuring and tracking price level changes to an entire stock market or sector. Therefore, they provide a useful benchmark against which to measure an investor's portfolio. The goal of a well diversified portfolio is usually to outperform the main composite indexes.

Related Links:
Get to know the most important market indices and the pros and cons of investing in them. Index Investing
Be in the know - learn about the five most talked about indexes and what makes them all different. A Market By Any Other Name
Indexes can track market trends, but they're not always reliable. Can you trust them? The ABCs Of Stock Indexes
Is your investment management firm GIPS compliant? Learn more here. A Guide To Global Investment Performance Standards

A plant in the family Compositae, whose members have many small flowers packed tightly together into inflorescences that resemble single blossoms.

IN BRIEF: Made of parts, which are parts of a different whole.

The artist drew a composite sketch of the suspect.

Tutor's tip: "Composed" is the past tense of compose, "composite" is something made up of separate elements or pieces, "compost" is a mixture of vegetable materials decomposing to make fertilizer, while a "compote" is a dessert composed of several cooked fruits.

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Composites are made up of two or more distinct materials that when combined are better (i.e., stronger, tougher, and/or more durable) than each would be separately. Unlike alloys, composite materials are anisotropic and use fiber or whiskers in a bonding matrix. Most common composites used in aircraft are carbon composites and superplastics, which are lighter, cheaper, stronger, and less prone to corrosion.



Comparative characteristics of metals and composites.

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A variety of resins used in restorative dentistry.

For a list of words related to composite, see:

• Botany and Plant Parts - composite: one of a large family of herbaceous plants with flower heads of dense clusters of small florets surrounded by ring of small leaves or bracts
• Materials, Formations, and Substances - composite: rock made up of several distinct parts
• Types of Photography - composite: several shots of model or actor in different poses, printed together with head shot on reverse side

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See words rhyming with "composite."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Composite.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - sammensat, komposit, kurvblomst-
n. - kurvblomst, kompositskib, sammensætning
v. tr. - sammensætte, blande

Nederlands (Dutch)
samengesteld, ontbindbaar, composiet, samengesteld geheel/ materiaal, (betreffende) composietorde

Français (French)
adj. - composite, composé, diversifié
n. - composite, (Comm) entreprise diversifiée, (Archit) (ordre) composite, (Bot) composée
v. tr. - faire un composite de/à partir de

Deutsch (German)
adj. - zusammengesetzt
n. - Zusammensetzung, Korbblüter
v. - eine Fotomontage machen

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - (πολυ)σύνθετος
n. - σύνθετο σώμα

Italiano (Italian)
composito

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - composto, compósita (Arquit.), divisível (Mat.)
n. - composto (m), complexo (m), composição (f)

Русский (Russian)
составной, комбинированный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - compuesto, mixto
n. - compuesto, mixtura, mezcla, combinación
v. tr. - mezclar, combinar, hacer una mixtura

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sammansatt, korgblommig (bot.)
n. - korgblommig växt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
含有种种要素的, 菊科的, 混合成的, 合成物, 菊科植物, 复合材料, 混合, 拼合, 综合, 复合, 合成

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 含有種種要素的, 菊科的, 混合成的
n. - 合成物, 菊科植物, 複合材料
v. tr. - 混合, 拼合, 綜合, 複合, 合成

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 혼성의, 다단식인, 복합의
n. - 합성물, 몽타주
v. tr. - (사진 등을) 합성하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 合成物, キク科植物
adj. - 合成の, キク科の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مركب من عدة عناصر (الاسم) مركب متكون من عدة عناصر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מורכב‬
n. - ‮דבר מורכב‬
v. tr. - ‮מיזג שתי תמיסות‬

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