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

Etymology

Origin of assemblage

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

Example Sentences

“The Bride!” is a maniacal assemblage of ’30s musicals, ’40s noirs, 19th century literature and 21st century ideology.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

This makes it the most genetically diverse assemblage of seasonal killifish ever documented anywhere in the world.

From Science Daily • Dec. 25, 2025

The exhibition brings together 58 sculptures from a group of over 600 that is not only the most important private assemblage of this work anywhere, but one of the art world’s best-kept secrets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025

The same assemblage of words, more or less, in the four most important outlets in town—not bad for a few minutes’ work!

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

“Holism” suggests something biologically transcendental because of “holy,” although it was intended more simply to mean a complete assemblage of living units.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas