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
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 WebMelik Kaylan, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024
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
Dan Rys, Billboard, 8 Dec. 2023
The pair’s first extravehicular activity—as astronauts call such trips outside their spacecraft—turned up mostly breccias, conglomerate rocks created by the meteorite impacts that actually formed most lunar mountains.
—Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2023
Or will conglomerate Waystar fall into new, foreign hands, leaving billions in the Roy family’s pockets but no control?
—Sofia Lotto Persio, Quartz, 26 May 2023
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
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
The bank’s internal controls hadn’t stopped the concentration of risk, and the resulting write-down as Benko’s conglomerate Signa entered bankruptcy wiped out half the lender’s annual profit.
—Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
The owner of the complex, a Chinese conglomerate, ran out of funding before completing the residential and retail project.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Elaine Marshall and family With her two sons, Marshall owns 16% of her family conglomerate, Koch Industries.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Last month, Germany and France announced a joint venture through the defense conglomerate KNDS to build parts for tanks and howitzers in Ukraine and, eventually, whole weapons systems.
—Lara Jakes, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Though for the most part, the country’s digital banks are controlled by its powerful conglomerates and large tech companies, reducing opportunities for startups, the advent of a greater variety of banking options ultimately benefits both consumers and small businesses.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Hayek shares Valentina Paloma Pinault, who is 16, with husband François-Henri Pinault, the CEO of luxury goods conglomerate Kering.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 25 Mar. 2024
The attack caused power outages in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where 1,060 miners were working underground at coal mining facilities run by Ukrainian energy conglomerate DTEK.
—Siobhán O'Grady, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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
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
Verb
Ultimately, giant conglomerates Apple, Google and Amazon entered the streaming space and, alongside Spotify, swallowed up market share, edging TIDAL increasingly toward the margins.
—Dan Rys, Billboard, 8 Dec. 2023
The pair’s first extravehicular activity—as astronauts call such trips outside their spacecraft—turned up mostly breccias, conglomerate rocks created by the meteorite impacts that actually formed most lunar mountains.
—Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 June 2023
Or will conglomerate Waystar fall into new, foreign hands, leaving billions in the Roy family’s pockets but no control?
—Sofia Lotto Persio, Quartz, 26 May 2023
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
Noun
The idea is to broaden the reach for news while keeping costs down, and much of that is being made possible by marrying national news divisions with local newsrooms in place at various stations the media conglomerates own.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
The bank’s internal controls hadn’t stopped the concentration of risk, and the resulting write-down as Benko’s conglomerate Signa entered bankruptcy wiped out half the lender’s annual profit.
—Bastian Benrath, Fortune Europe, 4 Apr. 2024
The owner of the complex, a Chinese conglomerate, ran out of funding before completing the residential and retail project.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Elaine Marshall and family With her two sons, Marshall owns 16% of her family conglomerate, Koch Industries.
—Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2024
Last month, Germany and France announced a joint venture through the defense conglomerate KNDS to build parts for tanks and howitzers in Ukraine and, eventually, whole weapons systems.
—Lara Jakes, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Though for the most part, the country’s digital banks are controlled by its powerful conglomerates and large tech companies, reducing opportunities for startups, the advent of a greater variety of banking options ultimately benefits both consumers and small businesses.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Hayek shares Valentina Paloma Pinault, who is 16, with husband François-Henri Pinault, the CEO of luxury goods conglomerate Kering.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 25 Mar. 2024
The attack caused power outages in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where 1,060 miners were working underground at coal mining facilities run by Ukrainian energy conglomerate DTEK.
—Siobhán O'Grady, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
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.
Dictionary Entries Near conglomerate
Cite this Entry
“Conglomerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conglomerate. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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