conglomerate

1 of 3

adjective

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

conglomerate

2 of 3

verb

con·​glom·​er·​ate kən-ˈglä-mə-ˌrāt 

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

kən-ˈgläm-rə-tiv 

-ˈglä-mə-;

-mə-ˌrā-

adjective

conglomerator

kən-ˈglä-mə-ˌrā-tər 

noun

conglomerate

3 of 3

noun

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

conglomeratic

kən-ˌglä-mə-ˈra-tik 

ˌkän-

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• gather
• meet
• converge
• rendezvous
• assemble
• cluster
• get together
• merge
• convene

Noun

• empire
• corporation

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 river

Noun

a news and entertainment conglomerate

Our small company must compete with the big conglomerates.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Simultaneously, a series of conglomerate takeovers of local manufacturing plants led to waves of re-structuring and cost-cutting: factory jobs no longer seemed quite so stable. — Made By History, Time, 21 Apr. 2025

As its rivals increasingly conglomerate to exert pressure against it, the West is often forced to ignore the flaws of its allies. —Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

Verb

The vision of the commission is clear in a diagram for the War Department that sought to streamline the bureaucracy, conglomerating the existing 18 divisions into eight. —Laura Ellyn Smith, The Conversation, 9 May 2025

Lev noted that, in the 1960s, conglomerated companies were trending in strategy circles because of economies of scale and the risk mitigation of being in multiple industries, where if one area is struggling due to external factors, the company's risk is spread out across a few different sectors. —Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025

Noun

From a distillery founded by the grandfather of Jaime Zobel de Ayala in 1834, Ayala Corp., the oldest Philippine conglomerate, has expanded into banking, real estate, healthcare, schools, telecommunications and energy. —Ian Sayson, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025

Charter had previously dropped the outlets in 2023 after complaining that Disney and other traditional media conglomerates were putting most of their content dollars into new streaming services, leaving customers paying for networks with less original fare. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 26 June 2025

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

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

-ˌgläm-ə-ˈrā-shən

kän-

noun

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

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

: to gather into a mass or coherent whole

conglomerative

-ˈgläm-(ə-)rət-iv, -ə-ˌrāt- 

adjective

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