agglomerate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
adjective
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gathered together into a cluster or mass.
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Botany. crowded into a dense cluster, but not cohering.
noun
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a mass of things clustered together.
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rock composed of rounded or angular volcanic fragments.
verb
noun
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a confused mass
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a rock consisting of angular fragments of volcanic lava Compare conglomerate
adjective
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of agglomerate
1675–85; < Latin agglomerātus (past participle of agglomerāre ), equivalent to ag- ag- + glomer- (stem of glomus ball of yarn) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When things agglomerate, they gather together into a cluster or a group. In some states, people tend to agglomerate into cities, leaving rural areas sparsely populated. You might come across the verb agglomerate in business news — moguls tend to agglomerate companies, collecting them under one controlling interest. You could also describe a website that agglomerates news items, gathering them all into one place. The Latin root word is agglomerare, "to wind or add onto a ball," from ad, "to," and glomerare, "ball of yarn."
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.
Ideas don’t develop — they agglomerate in a repetitive, undifferentiated jumble, and the power they might have drains away.
From New York Times • Jan. 31, 2024
The virus makes countless copies of Ralph himself, which eventually agglomerate to become a Ralphzilla that destroys the web’s infrastructure in pursuit of trapping Vanellope in their relationship.
From Slate • Dec. 4, 2018
Ross, 79, billionaire investor known for aggressive moves to agglomerate and sell failing steel- and coal-industry interests.
From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2017
So kudos to Schumer for using a fresh word, which we will promptly agglomerate.
From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2013
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 "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
