How to Use compose in a Sentence

compose

verb
  • She composed a letter to her sister.
  • He is in his studio composing.
  • His struggle to compose it is at the heart of the film.
    — Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 17 Nov. 2021
  • That was the last straw for the group, Allen said, prompting them to compose the ad.
    — Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 30 Mar. 2021
  • The lyricist wrote the words and then asked his wife to compose the music.
    — David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Dec. 2021
  • It is composed of 16 judges across four districts in the state.
    — Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2023
  • The late Ryuichi Sakamoto, who knew Paik, composed the film’s theme.
    — Abigail Lee, BostonGlobe.com, 12 May 2023
  • The iPhone camera has a setting to show a grid to help compose shots.
    — Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2022
  • And then Michelle would kind of compose something based on that.
    — Jonathan Peltz, Wired, 22 Sep. 2021
  • In fact, over 50% of the human body is composed of water.
    — Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2023
  • The county’s votes so far compose more than 15% of all those cast in the sprawling state.
    — Rachel Adams-Heard, Bloomberg.com, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Take in a sentence from the user that is composed of one or more words.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
  • The floor is composed of reclaimed limstone, and the rug is a vintage find.
    — Kristen Flanagan, Architectural Digest, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Five of the eight songs, composed but not recorded in 1995, were co-written by Deutsch.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 26 July 2023
  • The team would come up with the idea for a stage and then Wintory would compose some music to set the mood.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
  • Can Miles compose movie scores in a small cottage across the Atlantic?
    — Shannon Carlin, refinery29.com, 10 Dec. 2020
  • For casual fans, the five weeks in May and June that compose the Triple Crown define the sport — and draw the massive crowds.
    — Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2021
  • To avoid being trapped in a funk cul-de-sac, he’s branched out to compose music for film and TV.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Once that's the case, anyone could compose their own feature films that way as well.
    — Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Amidst this angst, Regney had been asked to compose a song that would be on the flipside of a single record.
    — David Kindy, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Dec. 2021
  • Viral aerosols are tiny and compose just a small fraction of the detritus that floats around in the air.
    — Emily Anthes, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2021
  • As a result, 17% of the city’s land area is now composed of vacant land where houses once stood.
    — Camila Alvayay Torrejon, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Less than 5 percent of Earth is composed of rocks from the planet’s first billion years.
    — Marissa Grunes, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2023
  • Riese Zmolek took a few moments to compose himself and assess the question, but the tears still came.
    — Randy Johnson, Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
  • Most sand is composed of different small pieces of rock.
    — Tim Carter, Hartford Courant, 25 Jan. 2025
  • This allows the brain to compose a full picture, IrisVision says.
    — Benoit Morenne, WSJ, 6 Jan. 2022
  • The City Council is composed of four councilmembers and the mayor.
    — Michael Slaten, Orange County Register, 11 Nov. 2024
  • Josh Evert and Sean Behling compose new music each episode, and Evert designed the logo.
    — Margot Armbruster, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2020
  • Often composed of three to five plants braided together to form one trunk, the money tree can grow up to 2 feet per year!
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 13 June 2025
  • To capture the photo above, the drone was left in a hover at the correct altitude, then rotated and the camera pitch was adjusted to compose the photo.
    — James Abbott, Space.com, 22 June 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'compose.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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