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public:The poll is a test of the public's confidence in the government.

population:…the local population.

com|mu |nity cen|tre (community centres ) in AM, use community center N‑COUNT A community centre is a place that is specially provided for the people, groups, and organizations in a particular area, where they can go in order to meet one another and do things.

com|mu |nity co l|lege (community colleges ) N‑COUNT A community college is a local college where students from the surrounding area can take courses in practical or academic subjects. [AM ]

com|mu |nity po|li c|ing N‑UNCOUNT Community policing is a system in which police officers work only in one particular area of the community, so that everyone knows them.

com|mu |nity se r|vice N‑UNCOUNT Community service is unpaid work that criminals sometimes do as a punishment instead of being sent to prison. □  He was sentenced to 140 hours' community service.

com|mute /kəmjuː t/ (commutes , commuting , commuted )

1 VERB If you commute , you travel a long distance every day between your home and your place of work. □ [V + to/from ] Mike commutes to London every day. □ [V + between ] McLaren began commuting between Paris and London. □ [V ] He's going to commute. ●  com|mut|er (commuters ) N‑COUNT □  The number of commuters to London has dropped by 100,000. □  …a commuter train. ●  com|mut|ing N‑UNCOUNT

2 N‑COUNT A commute is the journey that you make when you commute. [mainly AM ] □  The average Los Angeles commute is over 60 miles a day.

3 VERB [usu passive] If a death sentence or prison sentence is commuted to a less serious punishment, it is changed to that punishment. □ [be V -ed + to ] His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. □ [be V -ed] Prison sentences have been commuted.

com|mu t|er belt (commuter belts ) N‑COUNT A commuter belt is the area surrounding a large city, where many people who work in the city live. □  …people who live in the commuter belt around the capital.

com|pact (compacts , compacting , compacted ) The adjective and verb are pronounced /kəmpæ kt/. The noun is pronounced /kɒ mpækt/. 1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Compact things are small or take up very little space. You use this word when you think this is a good quality. [APPROVAL ] □  …my compact office in Washington. □  …the new, more compact Czech government. ●  com|pact|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] The very compactness of the cottage made it all the more snug and appealing.

2 ADJ A compact person is small but strong. □  He was compact, probably no taller than me.

3 ADJ [ADJ n] A compact cassette, camera, or car is a small type of cassette, camera, or car.

4 VERB To compact something means to press it so that it becomes more solid. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] The Smith boy was compacting the trash. □ [be V -ed + by ] The soil settles and is compacted by the winter rain.

co m|pact di sc (compact discs ) in AM, also use compact disk N‑COUNT [oft on N ] Compact discs are small shiny discs that contain music or computer information. The abbreviation CD is also used.

com|pan|ion /kəmpæ njən/ (companions ) N‑COUNT A companion is someone who you spend time with or who you are travelling with. □  Fred had been her constant companion for the last six years of her life. □  I asked my travelling companion what he thought of the situation. WORD HISTORY companion

A companion was originally someone you liked enough to share a meal with. The Latin word companio consists of the roots com- , meaning 'with' or 'together', and panis , meaning 'bread'.