conglomerate
adjective
, -ˈglä-mə-\
Definition of conglomerate
(Entry 1 of 3)
conglomerate
verb
\
Definition of conglomerate (Entry 2 of 3)
conglomerate
noun
, -ˈglä-mə-\
Definition of conglomerate (Entry 3 of 3)
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Other Words from conglomerate
Verb
, -ˈglä-mə- ; -mə-ˌrā- \
adjective
\
noun
Noun
, ˌkän- \
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for conglomerate
Synonyms: Verb
assemble, cluster, collect, concenter, concentrate, congregate, convene, converge, forgather (or foregather), gather, meet, rendezvous
Synonyms: Noun
Antonyms: Verb
break up, disband, disperse, split (up)
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Examples of conglomerate in a Sentence
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 riverNoun
a news and entertainment conglomerate Our small company must compete with the big conglomerates.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Last month, it was announced that San Francisco beauty brand was being acquired by European consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, whose diverse brand roster includes Hellmann’s, Ben & Jerry’s, Axe and Dove. — Khanh T.l. Tran, latimes.com, "She gave up everything to start beauty brand Tatcha. What happens after it’s sold?," 8 July 2019 One advertising company under scrutiny in the investigation is Havas SA, the ad company owned by media conglomerate Vivendi SA, VIVHY -1.95% the people said. — Nicole Hong, WSJ, "Federal Prosecutors Probe Ad Industry’s Media-Buying Practices," 27 Sep. 2018 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. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
And then there is Secret, the women’s deodorant brand of the consumer goods conglomerate Procter & Gamble. — Kevin Draper, New York Times, "Pushed by Consumers, Some Sponsors Join Soccer’s Fight Over Equal Pay," 5 Aug. 2019 The French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH co-own the makeup brand with Rihanna, with Forbes estimating the company to be worth $3 billion, and that LVMH owns an estimated 50% of the brand while Rihanna owns about 15%. — Maeve Mcdermott, USA TODAY, "Rihanna tops Forbes' list of wealthiest female musicians with eye-popping $600 million," 13 Sep. 2018 The bride’s father is the vice president of investor relations and the treasurer of Textron, a global aerospace and defense technologies conglomerate in Providence, R.I. — New York Times, "Emily Salander, Felipe Maciá," 8 July 2018 For SoftBank, a deal would help the Japanese conglomerate put more money to work from its Vision Fund, which is backed largely by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth funds, as well as money from SoftBank. — Eliot Brown, WSJ, "WeWork in Talks With SoftBank to Double Valuation to as Much as $40 Billion," 13 June 2018 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. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The conglomerate owns 12 subsidiaries, which employ about 120,000 collectively. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "This is the Koch Brothers empire," 23 Aug. 2019 Succession stars Brian Cox as Logan Roy, the ailing head of hulking media conglomerate Waystar Royco. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Succession Season 3 Is Officially a Go," 20 Aug. 2019 In an apparent move to underscore management's confidence in the conglomerate's future, GE reported after the close of trading that its CEO, Larry Culp, had bought about 250,000 shares of GE stock. — CBS News, "General Electric accused of fraud "bigger than Enron" by Madoff whistleblower," 16 Aug. 2019 In a rather short period, A24 films became some of the trendiest players in an industry increasingly smothered by media conglomerates. — Sonia Rao, Washington Post, "How the indie studio behind ‘Moonlight,’ ‘Lady Bird’ and ‘Hereditary’ flourished while breaking Hollywood rules," 5 Aug. 2019 The prime minister is accused of fraudulently steering €2 million ($2.28 million) in European Union grants—meant to help small businesses—into his giant food, logistics, and mass-media conglomerate. — Drew Hinshaw, WSJ, "Czechs Gather to Protest Autocratic Drift in Central Europe," 23 June 2019 Round Room was acquired by Canadian media conglomerate EntertainmentOne in 2018. — Dave Brooks, Billboard, "Kids Viral Sensation 'Baby Shark' Hitting the Road for 100-Date Tour," 12 June 2019 That is the size of the Japanese conglomerate’s Vision Fund, which holds stakes in modish technology companies including WeWork and Uber. — The Economist, "The Europeans want their own Vision Fund to invest in tech," 31 Aug. 2019 As that competition is heated, Nikkei Asian Review reports that the Japanese conglomerate has a plan to diversify its interest further by providing weather data services. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Single-core Delta IV is no more, fully automated Soyuz," 23 Aug. 2019These 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.
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More Definitions for conglomerate
conglomerate
nounFinancial Definition of conglomerate
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
noun
English Language Learners Definition of conglomerate
See the full definition for conglomerate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
conglomerate
noun
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Kids Definition of conglomerate
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conglomerate
adjective
\
Medical Definition of conglomerate
(Entry 1 of 3)
conglomerate
verb
\
Medical Definition of conglomerate (Entry 2 of 3)
Other Words from conglomerate
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adjective
conglomerate
noun
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Medical Definition of conglomerate (Entry 3 of 3)
conglomerate
noun
\
Legal Definition of conglomerate
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