consolidate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
consolidates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
consolidated,
past participle, past
-
consolidating
present participle
-
to bring together (separate parts) into a single or unified whole; unite; combine.
They consolidated their three companies.
-
to discard the unused or unwanted items of and organize the remaining.
She consolidated her home library.
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to make solid or firm; solidify; strengthen.
to consolidate gains.
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Military. to strengthen by rearranging the position of ground combat troops after a successful attack.
verb (used without object)
-
consolidates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
consolidated,
past participle, past
-
consolidating
present participle
-
to unite or combine.
-
to become solid or firm.
adjective
verb
-
to form or cause to form into a solid mass or whole; unite or be united
-
to make or become stronger or more stable
-
military to strengthen or improve one's control over (a situation, force, newly captured area, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
consolidatesimple
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consolidatessimple
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have consolidatedperfect
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has consolidatedperfect
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am consolidatingprogressive
-
are consolidatingprogressive
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is consolidatingprogressive
-
have been consolidatingperfect progressive
-
has been consolidatingperfect progressive
Past
-
consolidatedsimple
-
had consolidatedperfect
-
was consolidatingprogressive
-
were consolidatingprogressive
-
had been consolidatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of consolidate
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin consolidātus “made solid,” past participle of consolidāre “to make solid,” equivalent to con- + solid + -ate 1
Explanation
Consolidate means to bring together. If you consolidate student loans, you put them all together into one big loan. If you consolidate your childhood toys, you grab them all up and put them in one place. Preferably a toy box. Consolidate comes from the Latin roots com- ("together") and solidare ("to make solid"). So, consolidate is to bring things together to make something solid, stronger, or easier to handle. A general might consolidate his troops, a librarian might consolidate his grammar books, and someone with credit-card debt might consolidate the debt from different cards onto one.
Vocabulary lists containing consolidate
Hamilton
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The Hunger Games
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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:
"There have been challenges," he said, "but now the government is really trying hard to consolidate the youth. The government is implementing programmes that will really uplift their lives."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
CNN and CBS News are expected to consolidate some of their operations, such as its overseas bureaus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“With short positioning stretched and Fed pricing aggressive, we expect the 10Y Treasury yield to consolidate in a 4.90-5.10% range for now.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“This is one of the few remaining opportunities in Manhattan to consolidate your entire organization under one roof,” the site says.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
Castro oversaw the defense of the Bay of Pigs personally, and, far from threatening his hold on Cuba, the botched invasion helped consolidate his power.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
He says that the deal consolidates scalable thermal resources around Cenovus’ Christina Lake area operations, with around C$85 million in synergies identified, which “CVE’s upstream operating expertise could drive upside beyond.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
DeepMind’s recent departures actually seem like a bullish indicator for Gemini’s capabilities as the organization consolidates its focus on commercial applications, according to Zinger.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
When we are asleep, our brain consolidates the memories of the day, processes emotions, and solves problems that defied it in the waking hours.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
On the other, Ellison consolidates content production across multiple major networks.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
In astronomy this is true; but in all the other fields of scientific enquiry the word consolidates a conceptual revolution.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Asian currencies consolidated against the dollar, but may be weighed by safe-haven demand for the greenback amid the conflicts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
It is not clear whether he can pull this off, given that unlike Rata Tata, he had not consolidated power yet.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Asian currencies consolidated against the dollar but may be weighed by rising oil prices that could prompt further Fed rate increases that bolster the appeal of U.S. fixed-income assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The suits were consolidated into a group of related actions against the carmakers in California federal court.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
At the very core of the revolutionary legacy, however, was a virulent hatred of monarchy and an inveterate suspicion of any consolidated version of political authority.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
The departures are the latest sign that a frenzy of oil-and-gas mergers is consolidating the energy industry in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Bondholders recently agreed to consolidating a key Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
It’s important to know what the fees and investment options are within your retirement accounts, and anyone thinking of consolidating accounts should look at those factors before arbitrarily rolling anything over.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
And he led negotiations for China's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 -- a move seen as consolidating the country's transformation from an isolated economy under Mao to the marketplace of the world.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Like I’m some high school kid they’re forced to babysit when they’d rather be doing important things like consolidating the Shumaker files.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
