Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - compare

~1 v 1 »SIMILAR/DIFFERENT« to consider two or more things, people, ideas etc, in order to show how they are similar to or different from each other  (The report compares the different types of home computer currently available. | compare sth to/with)  (There is nothing to compare with a nice cold drink when you get home after work. | compare and contrast (=an expression used when telling students to write about the similarities and differences in works of literature, or art)) 2 compared to/with used when considering the size, quality, or amount of something in relation to something similar  (Compared to our small apartment, our uncle's house seemed like a palace. | Statistics show a 20% reduction in burglary compared with last year.) 3 »LIKE/EQUALLY GOOD« to say that something or someone is like someone or something else, or that it is equally good, large etc  (compare sth/sb to)  (You can't compare the war in Somalia to the Vietnam War.) 4 does not compare if something or someone does not compare with something else, it is not as good, large etc  (My old car was a real beauty. This one just doesn't compare.) 5 »BETTER/WORSE« to be better or worse in some way than someone or something else  (How does life in Britain compare with life in the States?) compare favourably/unfavourably  (The imported fabrics are 30% cheaper and compare very favorably in quality.) 6 compare notes if two people compare notes, they talk about something they have both done, in order to see if they have the same opinions, ideas etc about it  (The pair got together in Paris to compare notes on current research.) ~2 n beyond/without compare literary a quality that is beyond compare is the best of its kind  (a beauty and an elegance beyond compare)