con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-rət 
-ˈglä-mə-
: made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds
the conglomerate peoples of New England
a conglomerate empire
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈglä-mə-ˌrāt
conglomerated; conglomerating
: to gather into a mass or coherent whole
Infinite numbers of dull people conglomerated round her …—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-rət
-ˈglä-mə-
1
: a composite mass or mixture
especially
: rock composed of rounded fragments varying from small pebbles to large boulders in a cement (as of hardened clay)
2
: a widely diversified corporation
an international conglomerate of some 350 businesses
Synonyms
Example Sentences
Verb
people conglomerated in the downtown streets for an impromptu victory celebration
over the years the town's discarded junk conglomerated at the bottom of the river
Noun
a news and entertainment conglomerate
Our small company must compete with the big conglomerates.
Recent Examples on the WebDiscover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2012
Shares of Honeywell International gained 3.3% after the conglomerate housing aerospace, materials and other businesses raised its full-year profit forecast.
—Caitlin Ostroff, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022
More striking is conglomerate Danaher (DHR), whose commons yield a paltry 0.4% while its Series B Preferreds dole out a cool 5%.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
Record first-quarter earnings of $200 million at engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings lifted the fortune of Isidro Consunji and siblings by 47% to $2.65 billion.
—Forbes Press Releases, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022
Incidentally, the name in question—conglomerate Wanda—is still fresh from cutting its stadium rights relationship with modern-day La Liga giant Atlético Madrid.
—Henry Flynn, Forbes, 16 July 2022
The need is especially acute in the southern German states, home to industrial giants like BASF chemicals, the automaker Daimler and the conglomerate Siemens.
—New York Times, 28 Dec. 2021
The major contention behind UMG NA’s spin was allowing it to be valued as per its potential which was lost in the conglomerate nature of VIV FP’s operational structure.
—Jim Osman, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2021
After all, conglomerate BBK owns both brands, alongside other smartphone companies from China like Vivo and Realme.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 22 Nov. 2021
Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2023
While the Franks sold the winery to conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates for $315 million in 2021, the couple is still very much involved with the business.
—Jess Lander, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Mar. 2023
More than 25 years after selling her first and eponymous cosmetics brand to conglomerate Estée Lauder, Brown is charting a new path in beauty, amid endless TikTok rabbit holes and celebrity brand launches.
—Tiffany Dodson, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Feb. 2023
Protests raged in New Delhi and other cities against Gautam Adani, the CEO of commodities conglomerate the Adani Group and one of the richest people in the world.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 6 Feb. 2023
Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group, whose move to Connecticut in late 2021 was hailed by the Lamont administration, has closed down one of its subsidiaries while another of its companies filed for bankruptcy.
—Erica E. Phillips, Hartford Courant, 1 Feb. 2023
Buffett has lived in for decades and run right past the headquarters of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate on the way downtown.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2022
Last week, Musk ceded the title of the world's richest person to Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH—and the gap between their wealth has continued to grow.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics conglomerate best known for producing Apple's iPhones, stepped in to purchase the Ohio factory for $230 million in November 2021.
—PCMAG, 29 Nov. 2022
Patrick Frater, Variety, 9 May 2023
Rising chemical prices boosted the net worth of Lin Shu-hong, cofounder of petrochemicals conglomerate Chang Chun Group, to $7.9 billion, propelling him to third place on the list.
—Forbes Press Releases, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
That’s the death of Charles Bluhdorn, the creator and undisputed king of the conglomerate Gulf & Western Industries, in 1983.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2023
What are your views on the benefits of big conglomerates, as evidenced by your decision to sell off WarnerMedia so soon after acquiring it?
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2023
He’s given himself a two-year deadline to line up a successor, and he’s got to do that all while trying to reinvigorate a 100-year-old sprawling media conglomerate.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Apr. 2023
More recently, Hindenburg has targeted Indian conglomerate Adani Group, alleging fraud.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2023
The Italian furniture maker, which surprisingly isn’t owned by the French luxury conglomerate, was founded by Piero Mascheroni in 1973.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2023
The conglomerate announced plans to lay off five percent of its global workforce, about 1,250 jobs.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 10 Mar. 2023
See More
Adjective
In September Curiosity found an outcrop of conglomerate rock, pebbles and gravel bound together by wet sediment.
—Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2012
Shares of Honeywell International gained 3.3% after the conglomerate housing aerospace, materials and other businesses raised its full-year profit forecast.
—Caitlin Ostroff, WSJ, 27 Oct. 2022
More striking is conglomerate Danaher (DHR), whose commons yield a paltry 0.4% while its Series B Preferreds dole out a cool 5%.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
Record first-quarter earnings of $200 million at engineering conglomerate DMCI Holdings lifted the fortune of Isidro Consunji and siblings by 47% to $2.65 billion.
—Forbes Press Releases, Forbes, 11 Aug. 2022
Incidentally, the name in question—conglomerate Wanda—is still fresh from cutting its stadium rights relationship with modern-day La Liga giant Atlético Madrid.
—Henry Flynn, Forbes, 16 July 2022
The need is especially acute in the southern German states, home to industrial giants like BASF chemicals, the automaker Daimler and the conglomerate Siemens.
—New York Times, 28 Dec. 2021
The major contention behind UMG NA’s spin was allowing it to be valued as per its potential which was lost in the conglomerate nature of VIV FP’s operational structure.
—Jim Osman, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2021
After all, conglomerate BBK owns both brands, alongside other smartphone companies from China like Vivo and Realme.
—Chris Smith, BGR, 22 Nov. 2021
Verb
Headquarters for conglomerate Alibaba and tech giant Netease are based in the city, where millionaire residents grew 105 percent over the last decade to 30,400.
—Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2023
While the Franks sold the winery to conglomerate Treasury Wine Estates for $315 million in 2021, the couple is still very much involved with the business.
—Jess Lander, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Mar. 2023
More than 25 years after selling her first and eponymous cosmetics brand to conglomerate Estée Lauder, Brown is charting a new path in beauty, amid endless TikTok rabbit holes and celebrity brand launches.
—Tiffany Dodson, Harper's BAZAAR, 15 Feb. 2023
Protests raged in New Delhi and other cities against Gautam Adani, the CEO of commodities conglomerate the Adani Group and one of the richest people in the world.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 6 Feb. 2023
Cryptocurrency conglomerate Digital Currency Group, whose move to Connecticut in late 2021 was hailed by the Lamont administration, has closed down one of its subsidiaries while another of its companies filed for bankruptcy.
—Erica E. Phillips, Hartford Courant, 1 Feb. 2023
Buffett has lived in for decades and run right past the headquarters of his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate on the way downtown.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 29 Dec. 2022
Last week, Musk ceded the title of the world's richest person to Bernard Arnault, CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH—and the gap between their wealth has continued to grow.
—Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022
Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics conglomerate best known for producing Apple's iPhones, stepped in to purchase the Ohio factory for $230 million in November 2021.
—PCMAG, 29 Nov. 2022
Noun
Under Ford’s internationalist approach, IM Global set up an outpost in China and a pact with Reliance Big Entertainment, an Indian conglomerate then trying to expand into Hollywood.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 9 May 2023
Rising chemical prices boosted the net worth of Lin Shu-hong, cofounder of petrochemicals conglomerate Chang Chun Group, to $7.9 billion, propelling him to third place on the list.
—Forbes Press Releases, Forbes, 19 Apr. 2023
That’s the death of Charles Bluhdorn, the creator and undisputed king of the conglomerate Gulf & Western Industries, in 1983.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2023
What are your views on the benefits of big conglomerates, as evidenced by your decision to sell off WarnerMedia so soon after acquiring it?
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Apr. 2023
He’s given himself a two-year deadline to line up a successor, and he’s got to do that all while trying to reinvigorate a 100-year-old sprawling media conglomerate.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 4 Apr. 2023
More recently, Hindenburg has targeted Indian conglomerate Adani Group, alleging fraud.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2023
The Italian furniture maker, which surprisingly isn’t owned by the French luxury conglomerate, was founded by Piero Mascheroni in 1973.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2023
The conglomerate announced plans to lay off five percent of its global workforce, about 1,250 jobs.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 10 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conglomerate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Latin conglomeratus, past participle of conglomerare to roll together, from com- + glomerare to wind into a ball, from glomer-, glomus ball — more at clam
First Known Use
Adjective
1572, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1642, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
1818, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near conglomerate
Cite this Entry
“Conglomerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conglomerate. Accessed 27 May. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
conglomerate
1 of 3 adjective
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət
: made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds
conglomerate
2 of 3 verb
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-ə-ˌrāt
conglomerated; conglomerating
: to collect or form into a mass
conglomeration
noun
-ˌgläm-ə-ˈrā-shən
kän-
conglomerate
3 of 3 noun
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət
1
: a composite mass or mixture
especially
: rock made up of rounded pieces varying from small pebbles to large boulders in a cement (as of hardened clay)
2
: a corporation engaging in many different kinds of business
Medical Definition
conglomerate
1 of 3 adjective
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət
: made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds
conglomerate
2 of 3 verb
con·glom·er·ate
-ə-ˌrāt
conglomerated; conglomerating
: to gather (something) into a mass or coherent whole
: to gather into a mass or coherent whole
conglomerate
3 of 3 noun
con·glom·er·ate
-(ə-)rət
: a composite mass or mixture
Legal Definition
conglomerate
noun
con·glom·er·ate
kən-ˈglä-mə-rət
: a widely diversified company
especially
: a corporation that acquires other companies whose activities are unrelated to the corporation's primary activity
More from Merriam-Webster on conglomerate
Nglish: Translation of conglomerate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of conglomerate for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about conglomerate
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