1write or create (a work of art, especially music or poetry):he composed the First Violin Sonata four years earlier
phrase (a letter or piece of writing) with great care and thought:the first sentence is so hard to compose
form (a whole) by ordering or arranging the parts, especially in an artistic way:compose and draw a still life
2(of elements) constitute or make up (a whole, or a specified part of it):the National Congress is composed of ten senatorsChristians compose 40 per cent of the state’s population
3calm or settle (oneself or one’s features or thoughts):she tried to compose herself
archaic settle (a dispute):the king, with some difficulty, composed this difference
4prepare (a text) for printing by manually, mechanically, or electronically setting up the letters and other characters in the order to be printed:in offices where close-set text was composed both men and women pieceworkers were normally employed
