one of two parts that make up a whole or complete each other
3.
a complete amount, number, etc (often in the phrase full complement)
4.
the officers and crew needed to man a ship
5. grammar
a.
a noun phrase that follows a copula or similar verb, as for example an idiot in the sentence He is an idiot
b.
a clause that serves as the subject or direct object of a verb or the direct object of a preposition, as for example that he would be early in the sentence I hoped that he would be early
6. mathematics
the angle that, when added to a specified angle, produces a right angle
7. logic, mathematics
the class of all things, or of all members of a given universe of discourse, that are not members of a given set
8. music
the inverted form of an interval that, when added to the interval, completes the octave
the sixth is the complement of the third
9. immunology
a group of proteins in the blood serum that, when activated by antibodies, causes destruction of alien cells, such as bacteria
verb (ˈkɒmplɪˌmɛnt)
10. (transitive)
to add to, make complete, or form a complement to
▶ USAGE Avoid confusion with compliment
Word origin
C14: from Latin complēmentum, from complēre to fill up, from com- (intensive) + plēre to fill