coalesce
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to grow together or into one body.
The two lakes coalesced into one.
-
to unite so as to form one mass, community, etc..
The various groups coalesced into a crowd.
-
to blend or come together.
Their ideas coalesced into one theory.
verb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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coalescencenoun
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noncoalescencenoun
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coalescentadjective
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noncoalescentadjective
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noncoalescingadjective
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uncoalescentadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coalescesimple
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coalescessimple
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have coalescedperfect
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has coalescedperfect
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am coalescingprogressive
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are coalescingprogressive
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is coalescingprogressive
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have been coalescingperfect progressive
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has been coalescingperfect progressive
Past
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coalescedsimple
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had coalescedperfect
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was coalescingprogressive
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were coalescingprogressive
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had been coalescingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coalesce
First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin coalēscere, equivalent to co- co- + al- (stem of alere “to nourish, make grow”) + -escere -esce
Explanation
Waiting for a plan to come together? You're waiting for it to coalesce. Coalesce is when different elements of something join together and become one. In coalesce, you see co-, which should tell you the word means "together." The other half of the word comes from alescere, a Latin verb meaning "to grow up." So if you are trying to start up a photography club at school, once you have an advisor, some interested students, and support from the administration, things will hopefully coalesce, or come together, to make it happen.
Vocabulary lists containing coalesce
"A Quilt of a Country," Vocabulary from the argument
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Flowers for Algernon
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This Week in Words: December 9 - 15, 2017
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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.
See Examples For:
Still, not long ago, it looked like the team might never coalesce the way everyone envisioned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
His supporting cast of Europe-based almost-stars will need to coalesce big time.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
European dance music rhythms collide with contemporary hip-hop deliveries and progressive metal bass undertones as if they were always meant to coalesce.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
As entertainment media become dominant, they naturally coalesce around formats best suited for the technology and business model.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
About 300,000 years after their appearance, matter and energy started to coalesce into complex structures, called atoms, which then combined into molecules.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
A tense family coalesces around the memorial of its eldest son, cut down in the prime of what seems like an argument-leaden life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
A cohort of skilled people coalesces, and the Junglekeepers nonprofit is born, taking donations for land acquisition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
But IndieWire's Caleb Hammond said: "While this version contains its fair share of standout sequences along with Oscar-ready performances, the film never fully coalesces into an effective, singular, emotional narrative."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024
All of it coalesces the sad moral of the story: these people are small.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2023
The group coalesces around the front-runners as Frederick and his pursuers get to their feet, all of them pasted with snow.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Cabinet reshuffles require parliamentary approval -- although lawmakers have largely coalesced around Zelensky since Russia's invasion, and do not typically block his agenda.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Among the names the rumor mill has coalesced around at one time or another are Idris Elba, Tom Holland, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jacob Elordi and Callum Turner.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
What remains today of the banking business has coalesced around two banks that share the family’s five arrows motif.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Creators coalesced from the acquisition of DBA and its merger with UTA’s digital, audio and gaming divisions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
The green stars coalesced around it, flashing and whirling, echoing her movements like a school of fish, which, I realized, is just what they were.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
A battle between gold bugs and bullion bears appeared to be coalescing around the $4,000 an ounce mark on Tuesday, as the precious metal is on track to register its worst quarter in 13 years.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
“There were tiny lakes that started collapsing, coalescing and becoming one big, larger lake,” said Haritashya.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
Her album “TANYA” is an unrestrained porteña whirlwind, rapidly shifting between industrial, electroclash, and doom metal, with all of these disparate influences coalescing on the highlight track “WANNA HOTEL.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
The depth of digital, data, AI, and engineering expertise all coalescing at one location makes India highly sought after, say industry leaders.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2025
My mind closed down and I came immediately back to my bed, my room coalescing around me, my desk and chair, my little chest of drawers, the books and model airplanes suddenly so terribly real.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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.
