assemblage

American  

[uh-sem-blij, a-sahn-blazh] / əˈsɛm blɪdʒ, a sɑ̃ˈblaʒ /

noun

1. a group of persons or things gathered or collected; an assembly; collection; aggregate.

2. the act of assembling; state of being assembled.

3. Fine Arts.

   1. a sculptural technique of organizing or composing into a unified whole a group of unrelated and often fragmentary or discarded objects.

   2. a work of art produced by this technique.

4. Archaeology. the aggregate of artifacts and other remains found on a site, considered as material evidence in support of a theory concerning the culture or cultures inhabiting it.

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assemblage British  

/ əˈsɛmblɪdʒ /

noun

1. a number of things or persons assembled together; collection; assembly

2. a list of dishes served at a meal or the dishes themselves

3. the act or process of assembling or the state of being assembled

4. a three-dimensional work of art that combines various objects into an integrated whole

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assemblage Scientific  

/ ə-sĕm′blĭj /

1. A collection of artifacts from a single datable component of an archaeological site. Depending on the site and culture, an assemblage may be associated with a single limited activity, as with stone tools found at a butchering site, or may reflect a broad range of cultural life, as with artifacts that are found in a communal living site.

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Other Word Forms

• reassemblage
  noun
• subassemblage
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of assemblage

From French, dating back to 1695–1705; see origin at assemble, -age

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Explanation

An assemblage is a bunch of parts, pieces, or people collected together into an organized group, always for some specific purpose. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington DC to hundreds of thousands of citizens — an assemblage of people who all wanted to end racism. A computer is an assemblage of wires and microchips. An artist who makes sculptures from trash creates assemblages of recycled materials. The word assemblage is related to assembly — which sometimes refers to a gathering in the gymnasium that you’d like to skip.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assemblage

It also underscores the scientific importance of the Zhenghe Fauna, a fossil assemblage that is helping researchers investigate a poorly understood period in bird evolution.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Together, they represent the oldest documented assemblage of insects known so far and help fill a major missing interval in the group's evolutionary history.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

In 2019, a small but potent show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art explored the ways in which her drawing process factored into her assemblage work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

It can be difficult to distinguish where an arrangement ends and an assemblage begins.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

As one, they turn so their backs are to the royal family and their swords to the assemblage.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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