conglomerate

adjective con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈgläm-rət , -ˈglä-mə- \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Examples: conglomerate in a Sentence

Definition of conglomerate

: made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds

the conglomerate peoples of New England

a conglomerate empire

See conglomerate defined for kids

Recent Examples of conglomerate from the Web

In a shareholder vote over competing slates of directors, Elliott narrowly edged out French media conglomerate Vivendi .

— eric sylvers, WSJ, "Elliott Scores a Victory in Telecom Italia Fight," 4 May 2018
Telecom Italia, whose biggest shareholder is French media conglomerate Vivendi SA, is planning to set aside about 700 million euros ($834 million) to pay for the early retirements and voluntary buyouts, one of the people said.

— Bloomberg.com, "Bloomberg," 9 Jan. 2018
Elliott has set up a showdown with Telecom Italia’s largest shareholder, the French media conglomerate Vivendi SA, which owns 24 percent.

— daniele lepido, Bloomberg.com, "Elliott Said to Back Ferrari-Like Spinoff for Telecom Italia," 21 Mar. 2018
French media conglomerate Vivendi SA, Telecom Italia’s largest shareholder with a 24 percent stake, increased its influence over the Italian phone company last year.

— Bloomberg.com, "Bloomberg," 8 Jan. 2018
Erik Hellum has also been appointed as COO of the radio and media conglomerate’s local media.

— Billboard, "Executive Turntable: Hires at Def Jam, Plus Moves at Warner Music Group, Townsquare & More," 21 Oct. 2017
For the better part of the past two years, the company has had to deal with a looming takeover threat from French media conglomerate Vivendi, which has slowly been buying shares of the game publisher.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Ubisoft’s CEO Isn’t Playing Games," 23 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of conglomerate

Latin conglomeratus, past participle of conglomerare to roll together, from com- + glomerare to wind into a ball, from glomer-, glomus ball — more at clam

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First Known Use: 1572

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

conglomerate

verb con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈglä-mə-ˌrāt \

Definition of conglomerate

conglomerated; conglomerating

intransitive verb

: to gather into a mass or coherent whole

Infinite numbers of dull people conglomerated round her …
—Virginia Woolf

transitive verb

: accumulate

—

conglomerative

play \kən-ˈgläm-rə-tiv, -ˈglä-mə-; -mə-ˌrā-\ adjective

—

conglomerator

play \kən-ˈglä-mə-ˌrā-tər\ noun

Examples of conglomerate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of conglomerate from the Web

Some media had reported that Singapore Air (singy, -2.66%), Qatar Airways and conglomerate Tata Group were potential bidders, but in the end none showed up.

— Fortune, "A Funny Thing Happened When India Put Its National Airline Up for Sale: No One Put in a Bid," 1 June 2018
The company has reached a tentative deal to sell its Nine West and Bandolino footwear and handbag business to conglomerate Authentic Brands Group, which controls the brands of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and others.

— nathan bomey, USA TODAY, "Nine West files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection," 6 Apr. 2018
Now SoftBank, a Japanese conglomerate best known in the United States for its ownership of Sprint, is looking to muscle in on this lucrative business.

— landon thomas jr., New York Times, "SoftBank Looks to Invade Wall Street’s Turf," 11 Mar. 2018
There are just three major makers of DRAM: Korea conglomerates Samsung and SK Hynix, and Micron, a stand-alone company and the smallest of the three.

— david staats, idahostatesman, "Prosecutors say Micron workers in Taiwan stole tech secrets | Idaho Statesman," 8 Dec. 2017
Within that arena, Remy hopes to position Atlas brands as a bastion of independence within an ever-conglomerating industry.

— esther mobley, San Francisco Chronicle, "Atlas Wine Co. wants to revolutionize grocery store wine," 3 Nov. 2017
Immediate recognition is the reason conglomerates overwhelmingly choose pre-existing fashion labels as vehicles for young talent instead of backing new ventures.

— alexander fury, New York Times, "In Fashion, the Beauty (and Challenge) of Looking Back," 18 Sep. 2017
Last December, Seattle’s Westland Distillery struck a similar deal with French spirits conglomerate Remy Cointreau.

— tan vinh, The Seattle Times, "Moët Hennessy buys Woodinville Whiskey Company," 12 July 2017
One possibility is that mergers among insurers will induce doctors and hospitals to conglomerate as well, which in turn will encourage greater consolidation in the insurance sector, said Diana Moss.

— the washington post, The Denver Post, "It’s hard to be a small-time family doctor these days, new data shows," 9 Jan. 2017

First Known Use of conglomerate

1642

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

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conglomerate Synonyms

Phrases

get together;

conglomerate

noun con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈgläm-rət , -ˈglä-mə- \

Definition of conglomerate

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

—

conglomeratic

play \kən-ˌglä-mə-ˈra-tik, ˌkän-\ adjective

See conglomerate defined for English-language learners

Examples of conglomerate in a Sentence

a news and entertainment conglomerate
Our small company must compete with the big conglomerates.

Recent Examples of conglomerate from the Web

Charles Koch, 82, remains at the helm of the family’s oil, chemical and textile conglomerate.

— fredreka schouten, USA TODAY, "Billionaire David Koch, in ailing health, steps away from a conservative political empire," 5 June 2018
Abloh, known as a close collaborator of Kanye West, became menswear chief for the French luxury label, owned by luxury conglomerate LMVH, in March.

— Fortune, "Rimowa and Virgil Abloh Are Creating Completely See-Through Luggage," 5 June 2018
Abloh, known as a close collaborator of Kanye West, became menswear chief for the French luxury label, owned by luxury conglomerate LVMH, in March.

— max berlinger, Bloomberg.com, "Rimowa Has Made a $1,000 See-Through Suitcase," 5 June 2018
Cosmetics are marked up so much because conglomerates aren’t just in the ‘sell you great makeup’ business.

— meghan overdeep, Southern Living, "WATCH: You’ll Never Believe How Little It Costs to Make a Tube of Lipstick," 4 June 2018
The real-time platform was installed by the international conglomerate firm Veolia under an emergency services contract.

— beau evans, NOLA.com, "Sewerage & Water Board prepped for hurricane season with meteorologist, real-time monitoring," 4 June 2018
During a recent swing across the United States, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a $200-billion deal with Japan’s SoftBank conglomerate to build solar parks in his kingdom that can produce 200 gigawatts of electricity by 2030.

— alexandra zavis, latimes.com, "Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is turning to another resource to power the kingdom — sunshine," 31 May 2018
As a stand-alone firm, liftmaking, which is far more profitable than the firm’s other divisions, could be worth more than the entire conglomerate’s market capitalisation of €14.5bn, argues one observer.

— The Economist, "Activist investors go after a German industrial icon," 31 May 2018
The acquisition was one in a string of purchases of healthy snack-food companies by large conglomerates.

— julie creswell, New York Times, "PepsiCo to Acquire the Fruit and Veggie Snack Maker Bare Foods," 25 May 2018

First Known Use of conglomerate

1818

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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conglomerate Synonyms

Synonyms

empire;

Related Words

multinational;

cartel, combination, combine, syndicate, trust;

chain;

association, corporation, organization, pool;

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Financial Definition of CONGLOMERATE

conglomerate

noun

What It Is

A conglomerate is a corporation made up of several smaller, independently-run companies which may operate across several sectors and industries.

How It Works

Conglomerates are generally formed for two reasons: to diversify risk by participating in unrelated businesses or to expand a business within an industry to include suppliers and product purchasers.

Despite the possible benefits, conglomerates face the challenge of becoming so large that they are difficult to manage efficiently. This can lead to a lack of focus, which exacerbates managerial problems and reduces shareholder returns. This reason is why conglomerates often "spin off" subsidiaries into stand-alone entities. Corporations may also fail to realize the anticipated cost savings associated with acquisitions.

Why It Matters

The motto "the parts are worth more than the whole" is the idea behind conglomerates. They are typically very diversified businesses (although some conglomerates stick to one or two industries). This diversification and the efficiencies brought about by shared or reduced costs often make conglomerates less risky than those operating in a single market or niche. Many well-run conglomerates like Berkshire Hathaway and General Electric are much like funds in that they offer diversification and are less sensitive to general business cycles than more focused companies.

Source: Investing Answers

CONGLOMERATE Defined for English Language Learners

conglomerate

noun

Definition of conglomerate for English Language Learners

: a large business that is made of different kinds of companies
: a kind of rock that is made from many stones of different sizes held together with hardened clay

CONGLOMERATE Defined for Kids

conglomerate

noun con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈglä-mə-rət \

Definition of conglomerate for Students

1 : a mass (as a rock) formed of fragments from various sources

2 : a corporation engaging in many different kinds of business

Medical Dictionary

conglomerate

adjective con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət \

medical Definition of conglomerate

: made up of parts from various sources or of various kinds

conglomerate

verb con·glom·er·ate \ -ə-ˌrāt \

medical Definition of conglomerate

conglomerated; conglomerating

transitive verb

: to gather (something) into a mass or coherent whole

intransitive verb

: to gather into a mass or coherent whole

—

conglomerative

play \-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət-iv, -ə-ˌrāt-\ adjective

conglomerate

noun con·glom·er·ate \ -(ə-)rət \

medical Definition of conglomerate

: a composite mass or mixture

Law Dictionary

conglomerate

noun con·glom·er·ate \ kən-ˈglä-mə-rət \

legal Definition of conglomerate

: a widely diversified company; especially : a corporation that acquires other companies whose activities are unrelated to the corporation's primary activity