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.
-
to make solid or firm; solidify; strengthen.
to consolidate gains.
-
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
-
consolidatessimple
-
have consolidatedperfect
-
has consolidatedperfect
-
am consolidatingprogressive
-
are consolidatingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Hunger Games
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
The team also sees more spending on AI infrastructure as enterprises consolidate vendors and cut IT budgets.
From MarketWatch ● 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
The chief task facing the next several generations was to consolidate control of the North American continent.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
CrowdStrike’s flagship Falcon platform consolidates endpoint protection, cloud workloads, identity security and security operations-center management.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 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
Memory consolidates through a process called elaborative encoding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 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
In a statement Monday, she said she did not want to see two major studios consolidated, but that she would focus on holding them accountable to the settlement terms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
DHS consolidated a whole bunch of agencies under its auspices, from the Coast Guard to Federal Emergency Management Agency, but its most consequential new department was the U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
The company has closed or consolidated over 20 manufacturing facilities in the past several years while deploying robotic automation and AI to streamline operations on everything from product development to supply chains and manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
One key area of reorganization was Uber's delivery business, which Khosrowshahi said would see restaurant, retail and direct delivery units consolidated into teams disaggregated at the global, regional and country level.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 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
"Most are not investing in the future, but consolidating their past, often expecting policy to continue shielding them from global competition."
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The departures of Devon Energy and Expand Energy are the latest sign that oil-and-gas mergers are consolidating the industry in Houston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
I am in the process of consolidating and rolling over some accounts into a single brokerage company.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
One of the goals of the merger is to shave costs by consolidating overlapping business divisions and back-office functions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
With his passing, he evaded the overwhelming consequence of his success: the challenge of consolidating a polyglot empire unprecedented in size and comprising peoples who, by and large, despised each other.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
