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ag·gre·gate
ˈa-gri-gət 
: formed by the collection of units or particles into a body, mass, or amount : collective: such as
a(1)
: clustered in a dense mass or head
(2)
: formed from several separate ovaries of a single flower
b
: composed of mineral crystals of one or more kinds or of mineral rock fragments
aggregately
adverb
aggregateness
noun
ag·gre·gate
ˈa-gri-gət
3
a
: a rock composed of mineral crystals of one or more kinds or of mineral rock fragments : an aggregate rock
b
: any of several hard inert materials (such as sand, gravel, or slag) used for mixing with a cementing material to form concrete, mortar, or plaster
c
: a clustered mass of individual soil particles varied in shape, ranging in size from a microscopic granule to a small crumb, and considered the basic structural unit of soil
Did you know?
We added aggregate to our flock of Latin borrowings in the 15th century. It descends from aggregāre ("to cause to flock together" or "to join together"), a Latin verb made up of the prefix ad- (which means "to," and which usually changes to ag- before a g) and greg- or grex (meaning "flock, herd, or group"). Greg- also gave us congregate, gregarious, and segregate. Aggregate is commonly employed in the phrase "in the aggregate," which means "considered as a whole." Aggregate also has some specialized senses. For example, it is used to describe a mass of minerals formed into a rock, and materials like sand or gravel that are used to form concrete, mortar, or plaster.
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Adjective
There were to be thirty-seven playgrounds, twenty schools. There were to be a hundred and thirty-three miles of street, paved with an inch and a half of No. 2 macadam on an aggregate base.
—
Joan Didion, New Yorker, 26 July 1993
Their success at opening up new sources of supply, generating and servicing demand, and connecting new markets with the processing industries of the Amsterdam entrepôt seemed … to belie the axiom of an inelastic aggregate volume of world trade—a zero-sum competition.
—Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
The mulberry looks a bit like a raspberry. But the raspberry (along with the other brambles, members of the genus Rubus, such as the blackberry) is an aggregate fruit generated by a single, if complex, flower.
—Raymond Sokolov, Natural History, October 1986
With Keynes, standard theory conceded that disequilibria might intrude upon the economy as a whole, but it held that these could be remedied by judicious stabilization of aggregate demand—that is, combined government and consumer purchasing power.
—Robert Kuttner, Atlantic, February 1985
The university receives more than half its aggregate income from government sources.
The team with the highest aggregate score wins.
Verb
The problem, in this case, is that the synergy creates incentives for segregation. Ethnic advertisers scour the TV schedule for shows and channels that "aggregate" viewers of the type the client wants to reach …
—Tamar Jacoby, New Republic, 24 Jan. 2000
"We are good at aggregating eyeballs and delivering services," says Barry Schuler, the president of AOL Interactive Services, "and the Time Warner deal is a natural extension of that."
—Barry Schuler, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2000
Pollsters, for the most part, know perfectly well what they are doing. One thing they are doing is aggregating and averaging ephemeral spasms of "mood" that may have commercial or political value.
—Christopher Hitchens, Harper's, April 1992
… covered only if each of the corporations involved has capital, surplus and undivided profits aggregating more than $10 million …
—Joe Sims et al., National Law Journal, 28 Jan. 1991
The website aggregates content from many other sites.
over time, her petty thefts aggregated a significant shortfall in the company's books
Noun
In particular, a core of popular politically minded blogs known in the aggregate as the Blogosphere has been a beehive of furious activity. Or should I say a wasp's nest?
—Steven Levy, Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2004
It's true that our lives are the aggregate of a lot of little things, that's precisely why, at least once a year, we need to ride the wave of something bigger and bolder than our own little humdrum existence.
—Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Sept. 2002
Smallness of enterprises, as in the Japanese bicycle-manufacturing development, is an asset because smallness cuts down administrative and other overhead costs both in individual enterprises and in the aggregate, in comparison with the overhead costs of large operations.
—Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, (1984) 1985
numerous episodes of pilferage, taken in the aggregate, can really add up to a significant sum
See More
Joan Didion, New Yorker, 26 July 1993
Their success at opening up new sources of supply, generating and servicing demand, and connecting new markets with the processing industries of the Amsterdam entrepôt seemed … to belie the axiom of an inelastic aggregate volume of world trade—a zero-sum competition.
—Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
The mulberry looks a bit like a raspberry. But the raspberry (along with the other brambles, members of the genus Rubus, such as the blackberry) is an aggregate fruit generated by a single, if complex, flower.
—Raymond Sokolov, Natural History, October 1986
With Keynes, standard theory conceded that disequilibria might intrude upon the economy as a whole, but it held that these could be remedied by judicious stabilization of aggregate demand—that is, combined government and consumer purchasing power.
—Robert Kuttner, Atlantic, February 1985
The university receives more than half its aggregate income from government sources.
The team with the highest aggregate score wins.
Verb
The problem, in this case, is that the synergy creates incentives for segregation. Ethnic advertisers scour the TV schedule for shows and channels that "aggregate" viewers of the type the client wants to reach …
—Tamar Jacoby, New Republic, 24 Jan. 2000
"We are good at aggregating eyeballs and delivering services," says Barry Schuler, the president of AOL Interactive Services, "and the Time Warner deal is a natural extension of that."
—Barry Schuler, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2000
Pollsters, for the most part, know perfectly well what they are doing. One thing they are doing is aggregating and averaging ephemeral spasms of "mood" that may have commercial or political value.
—Christopher Hitchens, Harper's, April 1992
… covered only if each of the corporations involved has capital, surplus and undivided profits aggregating more than $10 million …
—Joe Sims et al., National Law Journal, 28 Jan. 1991
The website aggregates content from many other sites.
over time, her petty thefts aggregated a significant shortfall in the company's books
Noun
In particular, a core of popular politically minded blogs known in the aggregate as the Blogosphere has been a beehive of furious activity. Or should I say a wasp's nest?
—Steven Levy, Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2004
It's true that our lives are the aggregate of a lot of little things, that's precisely why, at least once a year, we need to ride the wave of something bigger and bolder than our own little humdrum existence.
—Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Sept. 2002
Smallness of enterprises, as in the Japanese bicycle-manufacturing development, is an asset because smallness cuts down administrative and other overhead costs both in individual enterprises and in the aggregate, in comparison with the overhead costs of large operations.
—Jane Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations, (1984) 1985
numerous episodes of pilferage, taken in the aggregate, can really add up to a significant sum
See More
Recent Examples on the WebPhilip Elliott, Time, 10 Jan. 2023
Anonymize every user—aggregate data at a team level.
—Samson David, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
While aggregate population vaccination data is collected and stored in IIS systems, in most cases individual vaccination records are not automatically stored or accessible.
—WIRED, 25 Sep. 2022
The outside researchers analyzed aggregate data from LinkedIn.
—Natasha Singer, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2022
However, at a combined +92.5 relative to the spread on the season, Georgia is tied with Baylor for the largest aggregate margin.
—Christopher Smith, al, 21 Nov. 2021
Over the past six months, the average layoff rate in the construction sector was 1.8%, which is more than double the aggregate rate for the whole economy.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2023
The 20 countries that use the euro, which have been battered by the war in Ukraine, aren’t expected to see any aggregate expansion at all.
—Julia Horowitz, CNN, 10 Jan. 2023
The new ad system works by showing the ad to a large group of people and then measuring their aggregate age, gender and estimated race and ethnicity.
—Salvador Rodriguez, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
Fox News, 23 Jan. 2023
That gave the film a 64% share of the nationwide weekend aggregate.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 16 Oct. 2022
After the close, September new loans and aggregate financing beat expectations and rose significantly.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
One of those purposes is, of course, to collect and aggregate preferences.
—Samuel Goldman, The Week, 13 Jan. 2022
Unlike some flight trackers, like FlightAware and FlightRadar24, this website, which uses some 10,000 receivers around the world to aggregate its data, doesn’t participate in any kind of filtering, whether for military or private aircraft.
—Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 19 Dec. 2022
To create the report, Grassroots partnered with retail data platform Locally to aggregate product data, imagery, and classification of various outdoor products.
—Geoff Nudelman, Outside Online, 10 Nov. 2021
Protections seem to be effective in the Maldives, where catching reef manta rays is prohibited and rangers limit access to certain lagoons when the animals aggregate to feed.
—Terence Monmaney, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2022
Today, especially for booking, the independent aftermarket is increasingly connected via workshop portals that aggregate garage offerings on their web platforms.
—Sarwant Singh, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2021
Michael Harley, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022
The overall nationwide aggregate was $7.70 million, down from $9.46 million in the previous weekend session.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Dec. 2022
Before that, the reporting threshold was for taxpayers with more than 200 transactions worth an aggregate above $20,000.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2022
Four of those states are on a knife’s edge again, with Senate candidates separated by 1.5 percentage points or less in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and by about 3 points in Wisconsin, the 538 aggregate of polls finds.
—Aaron Zitner, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022
Even at today’s low unemployment rate, workers in aggregate do not appear to have the market power to demand a larger share of the income pie.
—Time, 20 Dec. 2022
The aggregate amount distributed to eligible customers will total more than $14.36 billion.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 9 Dec. 2022
Well, of course—but only in the particular, not in the aggregate.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
But these laws may not, in the aggregate, have an effect on turnout—which is an empirical question that is really hard to answer.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2022
See More
Adjective
Faith in government seems to have bottomed-out at around 17% in Gallup’s aggregate polling.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 10 Jan. 2023
Anonymize every user—aggregate data at a team level.
—Samson David, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
While aggregate population vaccination data is collected and stored in IIS systems, in most cases individual vaccination records are not automatically stored or accessible.
—WIRED, 25 Sep. 2022
The outside researchers analyzed aggregate data from LinkedIn.
—Natasha Singer, New York Times, 24 Sep. 2022
However, at a combined +92.5 relative to the spread on the season, Georgia is tied with Baylor for the largest aggregate margin.
—Christopher Smith, al, 21 Nov. 2021
Over the past six months, the average layoff rate in the construction sector was 1.8%, which is more than double the aggregate rate for the whole economy.
—Megan Leonhardt, Fortune, 10 Jan. 2023
The 20 countries that use the euro, which have been battered by the war in Ukraine, aren’t expected to see any aggregate expansion at all.
—Julia Horowitz, CNN, 10 Jan. 2023
The new ad system works by showing the ad to a large group of people and then measuring their aggregate age, gender and estimated race and ethnicity.
—Salvador Rodriguez, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2023
Verb
The European Union on Monday launched a project to collect and aggregate cancer imaging data in an effort to speed up innovation and early cancer diagnosis using artificial intelligence.
—Fox News, 23 Jan. 2023
That gave the film a 64% share of the nationwide weekend aggregate.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 16 Oct. 2022
After the close, September new loans and aggregate financing beat expectations and rose significantly.
—Brendan Ahern, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022
One of those purposes is, of course, to collect and aggregate preferences.
—Samuel Goldman, The Week, 13 Jan. 2022
Unlike some flight trackers, like FlightAware and FlightRadar24, this website, which uses some 10,000 receivers around the world to aggregate its data, doesn’t participate in any kind of filtering, whether for military or private aircraft.
—Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, 19 Dec. 2022
To create the report, Grassroots partnered with retail data platform Locally to aggregate product data, imagery, and classification of various outdoor products.
—Geoff Nudelman, Outside Online, 10 Nov. 2021
Protections seem to be effective in the Maldives, where catching reef manta rays is prohibited and rangers limit access to certain lagoons when the animals aggregate to feed.
—Terence Monmaney, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2022
Today, especially for booking, the independent aftermarket is increasingly connected via workshop portals that aggregate garage offerings on their web platforms.
—Sarwant Singh, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2021
Noun
The cabin is nearly silent, except for the occasional muffled road noise when the tires drive over broken pavement or rough asphalt aggregate.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022
The overall nationwide aggregate was $7.70 million, down from $9.46 million in the previous weekend session.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Dec. 2022
Before that, the reporting threshold was for taxpayers with more than 200 transactions worth an aggregate above $20,000.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 2 Dec. 2022
Four of those states are on a knife’s edge again, with Senate candidates separated by 1.5 percentage points or less in Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, and by about 3 points in Wisconsin, the 538 aggregate of polls finds.
—Aaron Zitner, WSJ, 8 Nov. 2022
Even at today’s low unemployment rate, workers in aggregate do not appear to have the market power to demand a larger share of the income pie.
—Time, 20 Dec. 2022
The aggregate amount distributed to eligible customers will total more than $14.36 billion.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 9 Dec. 2022
Well, of course—but only in the particular, not in the aggregate.
—Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 9 Dec. 2022
But these laws may not, in the aggregate, have an effect on turnout—which is an empirical question that is really hard to answer.
—Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2022
See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'aggregate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English aggregat, borrowed from Latin aggregātus, past participle of aggregāre "to cause to flock together, join, include, lump together," from ad- ad- + -gregāre, verbal derivative of greg-, grex "flock, herd, group" — more at gregarious
Verb
Middle English aggregaten, borrowed from Latin aggregātus, past participle of aggregāre "to cause to flock together, join" — more at aggregate entry 1
Noun
Middle English aggregat, borrowed from Medieval Latin aggregātus, noun derivative of Latin aggregātus, past participle of aggregāre "to cause to flock together, join" — more at aggregate entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of aggregate was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing aggregate
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Dictionary Entries Near aggregate
Cite this Entry
“Aggregate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aggregate. Accessed 28 Jan. 2023.
Kids Definition
aggregate
1 of 3 adjective
ag·gre·gate
ˈag-ri-gət
aggregate
3 of 3 noun
ag·gre·gate
ˈag-ri-gət
Medical Definition
aggregate
1 of 3 adjective
ag·gre·gate
ˈag-ri-gət
: formed by the collection of units or particles into a body, mass, or amount
aggregation
noun
aggregate
2 of 3 transitive verb
ag·gre·gate
-ˌgāt
aggregated; aggregating
aggregate
3 of 3 noun
ag·gre·gate
-gət
: a mass or body of units or parts somewhat loosely associated with one another
Legal Definition
aggregate
1 of 3 adjective
ag·gre·gate
ˈa-grə-gət
aggregate
2 of 3 verb
ag·gre·gate
ˈa-grə-ˌgāt
aggregated; aggregating
aggregate
3 of 3 noun
ag·gre·gate
ˈa-grə-gət
More from Merriam-Webster on aggregate
Nglish: Translation of aggregate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of aggregate for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aggregate
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