agglomerate

1 of 3

verb

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈglä-mə-ˌrāt 

agglomerated; agglomerating

transitive verb

: to gather into a ball, mass, or cluster

agglomerate

2 of 3

adjective

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈglä-mə-rət 

: gathered into a ball, mass, or cluster

specifically : clustered or growing together but not coherent

an agglomerate flower head

agglomerate

3 of 3

noun

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈglä-mə-rət 

1

: a rock composed of volcanic fragments of various sizes and degrees of angularity

2

: a jumbled mass or collection : agglomeration

Synonyms

Verb

• ball
• roll
• round
• wad

Noun

• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• gumbo
• hash
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of agglomerate in a Sentence

Verb

breakfast cereal consisting of agglomerated clusters of wheat, rice, and nuts stays crunchy in milk

Noun

the Holy Roman Empire was an ever-varying agglomerate of central European states that managed to survive for 1,000 years

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

In those days, nearly all hemophiliacs were HIV-positive because they were infused repeatedly with blood products agglomerated from thousands of donors—none of whom were screened for HIV until the mid- to late 1980s. —Bruce D. Walker, Scientific American, 1 July 2012

The current autonomous mobility systems for planetary exploration are wheeled rovers, limited to flat, gently-sloping terrains and agglomerate regolith. —IEEE Spectrum, 5 Mar. 2021

But Krugman leads us further astray by agglomerating his data by state without noting the finer demographic points that might tell a different story. —Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 10 Dec. 2019

The first human brain balls—aka cortical spheroids, aka neural organoids—agglomerated into existence just a few short years ago. —Megan Molteni, WIRED, 3 Apr. 2018

Noun

The merger between Penguin Random House (itself an agglomerate of two giant publishing corporations) and Simon & Schuster, for example, came as a result of the publishing industry’s ongoing struggles with Amazon. —Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, 22 Dec. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Verb

borrowed from Latin agglomerātus, past participle of agglomerāre "to heap up, mass together, join forces," from ad- ad- + glomerāre "to form into a ball, collect into a mass," verbal derivative of glomer-, glomus "ball-shaped mass" — more at clam entry 1

Adjective

borrowed from Latin agglomerātus, past participle of agglomerāre "to heap up, mass together" — more at agglomerate entry 1

Noun

borrowed from Latin agglomerātus, past participle of agglomerāre "to heap up, mass together" — more at agglomerate entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1632, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1805, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

agglomerate

1 of 2 verb

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈgläm-ə-ˌrāt 

agglomerated; agglomerating

: to gather into a ball, mass, or cluster

agglomerate

2 of 2 noun

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈgläm-ə-rət 

1

: a jumbled mass or collection

2

: a rock composed of volcanic pieces of various sizes

Medical Definition

agglomerate

1 of 2 transitive verb

ag·​glom·​er·​ate ə-ˈgläm-ə-ˌrāt 

agglomerated; agglomerating

: to gather into a ball, mass, or cluster

agglomeration

ə-ˌgläm-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

agglomerate

2 of 2 noun

ag·​glom·​er·​ate -rət 

: a jumbled mass or collection

probably a virus or agglomerates of a virus

—E. A. Steinhaus