merge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cause to combine or coalesce; unite.
- Synonyms:
- consolidate, amalgamate
-
to combine, blend, or unite gradually so as to blur the individuality or individual identity of.
They voted to merge the two branch offices into a single unit.
- Synonyms:
- consolidate, amalgamate
verb (used without object)
-
to become combined, united, swallowed up, or absorbed; lose identity by uniting or blending (often followed by in orinto ).
This stream merges into the river up ahead.
- Synonyms:
- consolidate, amalgamate
-
to combine or unite into a single enterprise, organization, body, etc..
The two firms merged last year.
verb
-
to meet and join or cause to meet and join
-
to blend or cause to blend; fuse
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
mergesimple
-
mergessimple
-
have mergedperfect
-
has mergedperfect
-
am mergingprogressive
-
are mergingprogressive
-
is mergingprogressive
-
have been mergingperfect progressive
-
has been mergingperfect progressive
Past
-
mergedsimple
-
had mergedperfect
-
was mergingprogressive
-
were mergingprogressive
-
had been mergingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of merge
First recorded in 1630–40, merge is from the Latin word mergere to dip, immerse, plunge into water
Explanation
The verb merge means to seamlessly join something. For example, when you merge onto the highway, you need to smoothly join the traffic, forgetting everything you learned riding the bumper cars at the fair. If two or more things become one, they merge. If your favorite deli, The Cheese Stop, merges with a sandwich shop called Chez Lui, the two restaurants might also merge their names, becoming Chez Cheese. You can also use merge when things only appear to blend. You know it's time to go to sleep when the words in your book begin to merge together.
Vocabulary lists containing merge
"Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez
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Ghost Boys
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Business, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Altman’s role with Merge Labs set the stage for another rivalry in his long-standing feud with Musk, who helped found OpenAI but has soured on the company.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
Appeared in the October 8, 2025, print edition as 'Regional Lenders Merge to Vie With Megabanks'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025
Her 2013 album “Cerulean Salt” won praise from outlets such as Pitchfork and Stereogum, and she signed with the esteemed indie label Merge for the 2015 follow-up “Ivy Tripp.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2024
It hasn't been all bad for crypto, though: 2022 was also the year the Ethereum blockchain finally pulled off its "Merge" mega-upgrade, which moved it to a less energy-intensive "proof of stake" system in September.
From Reuters • Dec. 20, 2022
Quickly and pleasantly the seasons blow Over the meadows of eternity, As wave on wave the pulsings of the sea Merge and are lost, each in the other's flow.
From Eight Harvard Poets by Cummings, E. Estlin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
