con|glom|er|ate

con|glom|er|ate «adjective, noun. kuhn GLOM uhr iht; verb. kuhn GLOM uh rayt», adjective, noun, verb, -at|ed, -at|ing.

–adj.

1. gathered into a rounded mass; clustered.

2. Figurative. made up of various parts or materials gathered into a mass: »

Any President who does not hold together his party—however conglomerate—is almost sure to fail (Harper's).

3. of or having to do with a business conglomerate: »

a conglomerate enterprise. Many old-line publishers have surrendered their character to become part of a conglomerate empire (Atlantic).

4. Geology. of the nature of or forming a rock made up of pebbles, gravel, or the like, held together by a cementing material.

–n.

1. a mass formed of fragments.

2. Figurative. a miscellaneous group; conglomeration: »

He had organized the committee—a conglomerate of Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Czech, American, and Swiss relief agencies (New Yorker).

3. a large corporation made up of many companies that operate in different and often entirely unrelated markets: »

Very different companies are coming under combined management through the device of forming conglomerates, which place vast and diverse empires under unified control (Charles A. Reich).

4. Geology. a conglomerate rock.

–v.t., v.i.

to gather in a rounded mass; collect together. SYNONYM(S): accumulate, cluster.

╂[< Latin conglomērātus, past participle of conglomērāre heap together, ultimately < com- together + glomus, -eris ball of yarn]