combine
Americanverb (used with object)
-
combines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combined,
past participle, past
-
combining
present participle
-
to bring into or join in a close union or whole; unite.
She combined the ingredients to make the cake.
They combined the two companies.
- Synonyms:
- amalgamate, compound
- Antonyms:
- separate
-
to possess or exhibit in union.
a plan that combines the best features of several other plans.
-
to harvest (grain) with a combine.
verb (used without object)
-
combines,
present (3rd person singular)
-
combined,
past participle, past
-
combining
present participle
-
to unite; coalesce.
The clay combined with the water to form a thick paste.
- Antonyms:
- separate
-
to unite for a common purpose; join forces.
After the two factions combined, they proved invincible.
-
to enter into chemical union.
-
to use a combine in harvesting.
noun
-
combines
plural
-
a combination.
-
a combination of persons or groups for the furtherance of their political, commercial, or other interests, as a syndicate, cartel, or trust.
-
a harvesting machine for cutting and threshing grain in the field.
verb
-
to integrate or cause to be integrated; join together
-
to unite or cause to unite to form a chemical compound
-
agriculture to harvest (crops) with a combine harvester
noun
-
agriculture short for combine harvester
-
an association of enterprises, esp in order to gain a monopoly of a market
-
an association of business corporations, political parties, sporting clubs, etc, for a common purpose
Usage
What does combine mean? To combine means to join two or more things together into a single unit. When things are combined, they form combinations. Less commonly, combine can also be used as a noun to refer to several different things, especially a grain harvester and an event at which athletes showcase their skills. Example: At the draft combine, scouts are looking for a player who combines strength, agility, and intelligence in a single package.
Synonym Usage
See mix.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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combinabilitynoun
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combinernoun
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recombinernoun
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precombineverb
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recombineverb
-
intercombineverb (used with object)
-
combinableadjective
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noncombiningadjective
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uncombiningadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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combinesimple
-
combinessimple
-
have combinedperfect
-
has combinedperfect
-
am combiningprogressive
-
are combiningprogressive
-
is combiningprogressive
-
have been combiningperfect progressive
-
has been combiningperfect progressive
Past
-
combinedsimple
-
had combinedperfect
-
was combiningprogressive
-
were combiningprogressive
-
had been combiningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of combine
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English combinen, from Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combīnāre, equivalent to com- com- + -bīnāre, verb derived from bīnī “by twos” ( cf. binary)
Explanation
When you put things together, you combine them, creating one out of several. In some cases, the different items blend their properties and cannot be divided again, while in other cases the combined items can be picked out separately. In Latin, the prefix com- means "together," and bīnī means "two by two." These were combined to create the word combīnāre, or "to unite." Comedian Dave Attell offers a good use of the verb combine (cum-BINE): What're the two things they tell you are healthiest to eat? Chicken and fish. You know what you should do? Combine them, eat a penguin. Hiram Moore's combine (the noun is pronounced COM-bine) was a machine that combined reaping, binding, and threshing into one machine, saving farmers a lot of work.
Vocabulary lists containing combine
com-, con-
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Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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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:
Hybrid policies combine life insurance with a long-term-care rider or use an annuity structure.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
At that point, it urged it to consider strategic alternatives including a potential deal to combine its contact-lens unit with rival Bausch + Lomb.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Calls have grown for these levies to be extended to hybrid vehicles, which combine electric motors and internal combustion engines.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
The straights are short, and some of the corner entries, which combine braking and turning, mean, as Verstappen put it, "there are no corners where you can pass".
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“We should ride forth to meet them. Why allow them to combine their strength?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
But in mid-August the Olympic Council of Asia said the number would be closer to 17,000 after teqball - which combines elements of football and table tennis - and padel were included.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Magic Mountain in a release describes Thrill Glider as introducing a new coaster category, one that combines a motorbike-like seating arrangement with suspended coaster technologies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
The Duo, roughly shaped like a passport when folded, essentially combines the portability of a smartphone with the larger display of a tablet, offering users a bigger screen without carrying a tablet-sized device.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The system then checks those readings for errors and combines them into a single package.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
She combines that with suede boots and square, vintage pink sunglasses.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
On Thursday, Paramount received the Federal Communications Commission’s blessing to bring in Middle Eastern royal families as significant stakeholders of the combined company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
YTL Power and Ganda Power have now reserved seven SGT-9000HL units, supporting potential projects in Malaysia and the region with combined capacity of about 5.25GW.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
The researchers combined electrical stimulation with rapid freezing to capture tiny membrane changes in mouse and human brain slices.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
“We’ve seen an unprecedented number of layoffs in the technology sector as economic factors combined with ‘AI hype’ have led to significant downsizing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
I hadn’t heard this much talk in the past five years combined.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
By combining the observations and tracking how the object moved over time, the team determined that it behaved much more like a planet orbiting the star than an imaging artifact or a distant background star.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Boujnah said combining the stock exchange businesses would make sense and did not rule out a full-scale merger, though no talks are in progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
"The Prodigy continue to push the boundaries of production and performance, combining retina-blasting visuals and soul-shaking bass with their legendary, no-holds-barred energy," a spokesperson said.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“By combining applied AI with decades of sophisticated business rules, regulatory compliance, security models, data models and customer configurations, we enable customers to continuously realize AI’s value,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026
Eventually, once the temperature had dropped to a few thousand degrees, and electrons and nuclei no longer had enough energy to overcome the electromagnetic attraction between them, they would have started combining to form atoms.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
