aggregate

[ adjective, noun ag-ri-git, -geyt; verb ag-ri-geyt ]

/ adjective, noun ˈæg rɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt; verb ˈæg rɪˌgeɪt /

adjective

formed by the conjunction or collection of particulars into a whole mass or sum; total; combined: the aggregate amount of indebtedness.

Botany.

(of a flower) formed of florets collected in a dense cluster but not cohering, as the daisy.
(of a fruit) composed of a cluster of carpels belonging to the same flower, as the raspberry.

Geology. (of a rock) consisting of a mixture of minerals separable by mechanical means.

noun

a sum, mass, or assemblage of particulars; a total or gross amount: the aggregate of all past experience.

a cluster of soil granules not larger than a small crumb.

any of various loose, particulate materials, as sand, gravel, or pebbles, added to a cementing agent to make concrete, plaster, etc.

Mathematics. set(def 92).

verb (used with object), ag·gre·gat·ed, ag·gre·gat·ing.

to bring together; collect into one sum, mass, or body.

to amount to (the number of): The guns captured will aggregate five or six hundred.

verb (used without object), ag·gre·gat·ed, ag·gre·gat·ing.

to combine and form a collection or mass.

Words nearby aggregate

aggravate, aggravated, aggravated trespass, aggravating, aggravation, aggregate, aggregate fruit, aggregate glands, aggregated lymphatic follicles, aggregation, aggregative

Idioms for aggregate

in the aggregate, taken or considered as a whole: In the aggregate, our losses have been relatively small.

Origin of aggregate

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin aggregātus (past participle of aggregāre), equivalent to ag- ag- + greg- (stem of grex flock) + -ātus -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR aggregate

1 added, complete, whole.

8 assemble, amass, accumulate, gather.

OTHER WORDS FROM aggregate

ag·gre·ga·ble

[ag-ri-guh-buhl] /ˈæg rɪ gə bəl/, adjectiveag·gre·gate·ly, adjectiveag·gre·gate·ness, nounag·gre·ga·to·ry

[ag-ri-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈæg rɪ gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective

hy·per·ag·gre·gate, verb, hy·per·ag·gre·gat·ed, hy·per·ag·gre·gat·ing.re·ag·gre·gate, verb, re·ag·gre·gat·ed, re·ag·gre·gat·ing.sub·ag·gre·gate, adjective, nounsub·ag·gre·gate·ly, adverbun·ag·gre·gat·ed, adjective

historical usage of aggregate

All three parts of speech of aggregate (adjective, noun, verb) come directly from Latin aggregāt-, the stem of aggregātus, the past participle of aggregāre.
Aggregāre is a compound of ag-, a variant of the prefix ad- “to, toward,” and a derivative of the noun grex (inflectional stem greg- ) “flock, herd, band, troop, company”; aggregāre therefore means “to make (people) flock together, enter into association, join”—the association with grex “flock” is clear.
The Latin forms come from the Proto-Indo-European root ger-, gere- “to gather, collect,” which appears in Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and Slavic. Probably the most important derivative of ger-, gere- for the history of Western culture is the Greek noun agorá “meeting, assembly, market, marketplace, trade, traffic,” especially the Agora in Athens, the chief marketplace and center of the city’s civic life.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for in the aggregate

aggregate

adjective (ˈæɡrɪɡɪt, -ˌɡeɪt)

formed of separate units collected into a whole; collective; corporate

(of fruits and flowers) composed of a dense cluster of carpels or florets

noun (ˈæɡrɪɡɪt, -ˌɡeɪt)

a sum or assemblage of many separate units; sum total

geology a rock, such as granite, consisting of a mixture of minerals

the sand and stone mixed with cement and water to make concrete

a group of closely related biotypes produced by apomixis, such as brambles, which are the Rubus fruticosus aggregate

in the aggregate taken as a whole

verb (ˈæɡrɪˌɡeɪt)

to combine or be combined into a body, etc

(tr) to amount to (a number)

Derived forms of aggregate

aggregately, adverbaggregative (ˈæɡrɪˌɡeɪtɪv), adjective

Word Origin for aggregate

C16: from Latin aggregāre to add to a flock or herd, attach (oneself) to, from grex flock

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for in the aggregate

aggregate

[ ăg′rĭ-gĭt ]

adj.

Crowded or massed into a dense cluster.

n.

A total considered with reference to its constituent parts; a gross amount in a mass or cluster.

v.

To gather into a mass, sum, or whole.

Idioms and Phrases with in the aggregate

in the aggregate

Considered as a whole, as in Our profits in the aggregate have been slightly higher. [Late 1700s]