What does "conglomerate" mean?
A cluster of heterogeneous things.
Conglomerate
/kənˈɡlɒm.(ə.)ɹət/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cluster of heterogeneous things.
- Grammar: conglomerate is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aa, abyssal rock, accumulate, accumulate.
- Useful contrasts: disaggregate, dismantle, disperse.
- Usage evidence: Drop by drop, the water can conglomerate into a lake.
How to use "conglomerate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "conglomerate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "conglomerate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "conglomerate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "conglomerate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "conglomerate" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aa" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "conglomerate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cluster of heterogeneous things.
"They [miracles in the canonical gospels] are held, too, together by his [Jesus Christ's] strong and central personality, which does not leave them a conglomerate of marvellous anecdotes accidentally heaped together, but parts of a great organic whole, of which every part is in vital coherence with every other."
- 2 a group of diverse companies under common ownership and run as a single organization wordnet
- 3 A corporation formed by the combination of several smaller corporations whose activities are unrelated to the corporation's primary activity.
"The 2017 list includes 80 financial conglomerates with the head of group located in the European Union or European Economic Area, one financial conglomerate with the head of group in Switzerland, one in Bermuda, and two in the United States."
- 4 a composite rock made up of particles of varying size wordnet
- 5 A rock consisting of gravel or pebbles embedded in a matrix.
"When sandstone is coarse-grained, it is usually called grit. If the grains are rounded, and large enough to be called pebbles, it becomes a conglomerate, or pudding-stone, which may consist of pieces of one or of many different kinds of rock. A conglomerate, therefore, is simply gravel bound together by a cement."
Verb
- 1 To combine together into a larger mass. transitive
"[V]apors are never attracted or drawn up above the middle Region of the Air; for that the cold Air there, by thickning and conglomerating them, preſently turn them into clouds: and thence proceeds Miſts, Rains, Snows, Hayls, &c."
- 2 increase in amount by collecting or gathering wordnet
- 3 To combine together into a larger corporation. transitive
"Some firms conglomerated with suppliers of intermediate inputs and the railroad to carry their products."
Adjective
- 1 Clustered together into a mass.
"conglomerate flowers"
- 2 Composed of fragments of rock, pebbles, or stones cemented together.
"The Santa Margarita Formation in the southern Temblor Range, composed of conglomerate and subordinate sandstone, evolved as a large complex of fan deltas and submarine fans in late Miocene time."
- 3 Made up of heterogeneous elements; composite.
"I sat down on a step for a while to get over it, with my head in my hands and that awful conglomerate sound in my ears all the time."
Adjective
- 1 composed of heterogeneous elements gathered into a mass wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Drop by drop, the water can conglomerate into a lake."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "conglomerate"?
Common synonyms include: aa, abyssal rock, accumulate, accumulate, accumulated, accumulation.
How do you use "conglomerate" in a sentence?
Drop by drop, the water can conglomerate into a lake.
How do you pronounce "conglomerate"?
Pronounced /kənˈɡlɒm.(ə.)ɹət/.
Etymology
First attested in the second part of the 16ᵗʰ century; from Latin conglomerātus, perfect passive participle of conglomerō (“to pile into a heap, to roll together”) (see -ate (Etymology 1, 2 and 3)), from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”)) + glomerāre (from glomerō (“to pile into a heap, to make into a ball, glomerate”), from glomus (“ball of thread; ball-shaped mass”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball; ball”)).