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.
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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:
His supporting cast of Europe-based almost-stars will need to coalesce big time.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
Voters could coalesce around one or two of those left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
He valued players who had built cohesiveness skating together at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, confident they could coalesce into a whole greater than the sum of their parts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 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
Shifting shadows started at last to coalesce, and after a while my eyes became accustomed to the gloom, and I could see.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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
As it all coalesces, there is a sense of visceral, emotional catharsis that could only be achieved at the end of a long journey.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2024
With “Moving Chains,” she added, “everything that he’s been working on up to this moment coalesces in the piece.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 7, 2022
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
A wary Tinseltown reluctantly coalesced around the Netflix bid, seeing it as the lesser of two evils, but Paramount's willingness to stump up ever greater sums eventually saw the streamer withdraw.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Toward the end of 2020—with Covid having pushed everyone into their respective video chat boxes—a group coalesced around Dario to break off and form their own company.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
They coalesced around requiring utilities to pay community solar developers and customers for the electricity they feed to the grid using the same formula they use for people who install rooftop solar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 5, 2026
They coalesced, quiet, at the foot of her bed.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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
It may have represented the end of Massie’s stint in Congress, but it also may represent the coalescing of a new faction in Republican politics.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
These deals reflect a growing awareness that issues previously managed separately—such as identity and access management, model security, and security operations—are coalescing into a broader, unified challenge with AI, as agents work across systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
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
As Singleton began to amass evidence, and Baird saw that a potential case was coalescing, he let these thoughts percolate.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
