agglomerate

[uh-glom-uh-reyt, uh-glom-er-it, -uh-reyt]

verb (used with or without object)

agglomerated, agglomerating 

1. to collect or gather into a cluster or mass.

   Synonyms: accumulate, amass, assemble
   Antonyms: scatter, disperse

adjective

1. gathered together into a cluster or mass.

2. Botany.,  crowded into a dense cluster, but not cohering.

noun

1. a mass of things clustered together.

2. rock composed of rounded or angular volcanic fragments.

agglomerate

verb

1. to form or be formed into a mass or cluster; collect

noun

1. a confused mass

2. a rock consisting of angular fragments of volcanic lava Compare conglomerate

adjective

1. formed into a mass

Other Word Forms

• agglomerative adjective
• agglomerator noun
• nonagglomerative adjective
• unagglomerative adjective
• agglomeration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of agglomerate¹

1675–85; < Latin agglomerātus (past participle of agglomerāre ), equivalent to ag- ag- + glomer- (stem of glomus ball of yarn) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of agglomerate¹

C17: from Latin agglomerāre, from glomerāre to wind into a ball, from glomus ball, mass

Example Sentences

Ideas don’t develop — they agglomerate in a repetitive, undifferentiated jumble, and the power they might have drains away.

From New York Times

Taken together, they depict a wildly aspirational luxury metropolis that seems to have tipped over without warning into “Blade Runner” dystopia, a city agglomerating by algorithm, recalling a line from J.G.

From New York Times

The old model of urban economics, agglomerated vertically in a clutch of downtown skyscrapers, has gradually ceded to a broader vision of mobility, remote access and live-work neighborhoods.

From New York Times

This view, that the agglomerate of earth and water was not a perfect sphere, was universally accepted in the later Middle Ages, and the new cosmography required its refutation.

From Literature

For instance, it’s still unclear how solid material agglomerates into planet-sized pieces.

From Scientific American

When To Use

What does agglomerate mean?

Agglomerate means to collect or gather into a cluster or mass, especially a messy or jumbled one.As a verb, agglomerate is typically used in a passive way (as opposed to someone doing the agglomerating), as in Much of the garbage in the ocean has agglomerated into a giant floating mass.The process of agglomerating is called agglomeration. Agglomeration can also refer to a messy cluster or jumbled collection of various elements. Agglomeration is often used to refer to groupings of miscellaneous things—such as various types of objects or even people—into a single (though often somewhat messy) unit. Agglomerate can also be used as a noun to mean the same thing.The similar word conglomerate can be used in many of the same ways that agglomerate can, but it doesn’t doesn’t always imply a sense of messiness like agglomerate does. And conglomerate is most commonly used as a noun meaning a large corporation consisting of many companies.Agglomerate can also be used as an adjective to describe things gathered together into a jumbled mass, as in My desk has become an agglomerate mess.It can also be used in a few more specific ways. In botany, it’s used as an adjective to describe plant parts that are crowded into a dense cluster but not fully connected. In geology, it’s used as a noun referring to a type of rock composed of volcanic fragments.Example: I forgot that the art project was due today, so my collage is really just an agglomerate of things I found around the house.