agglomeration

noun ag·glom·er·a·tion \ ə-ˌglä-mə-ˈrā-shən \

Definition of agglomeration

1 : the action or process of collecting in a mass

the agglomeration of matter into stars and galaxies

2 : a heap or cluster of usually disparate (see disparate 1) elements

… an agglomeration of 100-year-old cottages with gingerbread scroll-saw ornamentation.
—Ira Henry Freeman

3 : a large, densely and contiguously populated area consisting of a city and its suburbs

an urban agglomeration

—

agglomerative

play \-ˈglä-mə-ˌrā-tiv\ adjective

See agglomeration defined for English-language learners

See agglomeration defined for kids

Examples of agglomeration in a Sentence

This suburb has become just a vast agglomeration of houses, people, and cars.
a mere agglomeration of warring tribes, it was far from being a unified nation

Recent Examples of agglomeration from the Web

Angliss then sold his cache of Mark IV parts to Rod Leach of Hertfordshire, England, who decided to do something with the agglomeration of pieces.

— davey g. johnson, Car and Driver, "Jam Master J-12: Ford GT40 Mark IV Heading to Auction in Florida," 8 Feb. 2018
The rejuvenation of the subway has been intertwined with a protracted period of staggering economic prosperity — agglomeration at work.

— jonathan mahler, New York Times, "The Case for the Subway," 3 Jan. 2018
The trips to the region by Messrs. Mattis and Trump come as the U.S. moves a third carrier strike group into the western Pacific Ocean—a rare agglomeration of military power in the waters near the Korean Peninsula.

— jonathan cheng, WSJ, "Defense Secretary Mattis Denounces North Korea on Visit to DMZ," 27 Oct. 2017
The forces of agglomeration, which big cities enable, are strongest in the kind of knowledge work that has become central to the economy.

— New York Times, "What Happens When the Richest U.S. Cities Turn to the World?," 22 Dec. 2017
The loose agglomeration has coalesced on social media— Facebook , YouTube, Twitter —and online chat rooms.

— ben kesling, WSJ, "The New Right-Wing Extremism: Unified, Tech-Savvy and Emboldened," 16 Aug. 2017
About 200 million years ago, the supercontinent of Gondwana—essentially an an agglomeration of Africa, South America, India, Australia and Antarctica—began slowly ripping apart into the continents recognizable today.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Researchers Think They’ve Found a Mini Continent in the Indian Ocean," 2 Feb. 2017
Manhattan's roads are a hellish agglomeration of potholes, double- and even triple-parking, and pedestrian and vehicle traffic unlike anywhere else in the country.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "Self-driving Chevy Bolts are coming to the streets of Manhattan in 2018," 17 Oct. 2017
What has been named the Whitechapel fatberg is a rock-solid agglomeration of fat, disposable wipes, diapers, condoms and tampons.

— amie tsang, New York Times, "Sewer in London’s East End Menaced by Giant Fatberg," 13 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agglomeration.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.