cluster
[kluhs-ter]
- a number of things of the same kind, growing or held together; a bunch: a cluster of grapes.
- a group of things or persons close together: There was a cluster of tourists at the gate.
- U.S. Army. a small metal design placed on a ribbon representing an awarded medal to indicate that the same medal has been awarded again: oak-leaf cluster.
- Phonetics. a succession of two or more contiguous consonants in an utterance, as the str- cluster of strap.
- Astronomy. a group of neighboring stars, held together by mutual gravitation, that have essentially the same age and composition and thus supposedly a common origin.Compare globular cluster, open cluster, stellar association.
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- to gather into a cluster or clusters.
- to furnish or cover with clusters.
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- to form a cluster or clusters: The people clustered around to watch.
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Origin of cluster
before 900; Middle English; Old English cluster, clyster bunch; cognate with Low German kluster
Synonyms
See more synonyms for cluster on Thesaurus.com8. group, gather, throng, crowd, bunch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for clustered
Contemporary Examples
The researchers examined stories in 469 local papers following suicides in both the clustered and the control group.
House Republicans clustered at the hotel seemed to have few new approaches.
However, D.C. can also be overrun with tourists, particularly as most of its well-known attractions are clustered in a small area.
To be sure, Canada is a rich country, on a per-capita basis, and its population tends to be clustered along the border.
They clustered around waiters offering glasses of champagne.
Historical Examples
It was a sad breakdown to the hopes that had clustered about Gartley!
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
They clustered in a close group near the fire, facing a common centre.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
The lights were clustered at the foot of a long and rather steep hill.
Cap'n Warren's WardsJoseph C. Lincoln
A mob of boys clambered on the rails, clustered round the davits.
Lord JimJoseph Conrad
Daintily swinging, like clustered pearls, were the petals of the orchid.
The Trail of '98Robert W. Service
cluster
- a number of things growing, fastened, or occurring close together
- a number of persons or things grouped together
- US military a metal insignia worn on a medal ribbon to indicate a second award or a higher class of a decoration or order
- military
- a group of bombs dropped in one stick, esp fragmentation and incendiary bombs
- the basic unit of mines used in laying a minefield
- astronomy an aggregation of stars or galaxies moving together through space
- a group of two or more consecutive vowels or consonants
- statistics a naturally occurring subgroup of a population used in stratified sampling
- chem
- a chemical compound or molecule containing groups of metal atoms joined by metal-to-metal bonds
- the group of linked metal atoms present
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- to gather or be gathered in clusters
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Word Origin
Old English clyster; related to Low German Kluster; see clod, clot
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for clustered
cluster
n.
Old English clyster "cluster," probably from the same root as clot (n.). Of stars, from 1727. Cluster-bomb attested from 1967.
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cluster
v.
late 14c. (transitive), from cluster (n.). Intransitive sense from 1540s. Related: Clustered; clustering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper