Etymology : Latin conglomeratus, past participle of conglomerare to roll together, from com- + glomerare to wind into a ball, from glomer-, glomus ball; more at CLAM
Pronunciation : k&n-'gläm-r&t, -'
Function : adjective
Date : 1572
1. group or mass formed from diverse elements; large corporation formed by the merge of separate companies; (Geology) detrital sedimentary rock that is coarse grained and composed of round fragments cemented together. accumulate, gather; form from diverse elements. conglomerate\con*glom"er*ate\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. conglomerated; p. pr. & vb. n. conglomerating.] to gather into a ball or round body; to collect into a mass.conglomerate \con*glom"er*ate\ , a. [l. conglomeratus, p. p. of conglomerare to roll together; con- + glomerare to wind into a ball. see:
glomerate.].
2. gathered into a ball or a mass; collected together; concentrated; as, conglomerate rays of light. beams of light when they are multiplied and conglomerate. fluids are separated in the liver and the other conglobate and conglomerate glands.
3. (bot.) closely crowded together; densly clustered; as, conglomerate flowers.
4. (geol.) composed of stones, pebbles, or fragments of rocks, cemented together.conglomerate \con*glom"er*ate\ , n.
5. that which is heaped together in a mass or conpacted from various sources; a mass formed of fragments; collection; accumulation. a conglomerate of marvelous anecdotes, marvelously heaped together.
6. (geol.) a rock, composed or rounded fragments of stone cemented together by another mineral substance, either calcareous, siliceous, or argillaceous; pudding stone; -- opposed to agglomerate. see:
breccia. a conglomerate, therefore, is simply gravel bound together by a cement.conglomerate composed of heterogeneous elements gathered into a mass; "the conglomerate peoples of new england" n.
7. a composite rock made up of particles of varying size [syn: pudding stone].
8. a group of diverse companies run as a single organization [syn: empire] collect or gather; "journals are accumulating in my office"; "the work keeps piling up" [syn: accumulate, cumulate, pile up, gather, amass].
9. Gathered into a ball or a mass; collected together; concentrated; as, conglomerate rays of light.
10. Closely crowded together; densly clustered; as, conglomerate flowers.
11. Composed of stones, pebbles, or fragments of rocks, cemented together.
12. That which is heaped together in a mass or conpacted from various sources; a mass formed of fragments; collection; accumulation.
13. A rock, composed or rounded fragments of stone cemented together by another mineral substance, either calcareous, siliceous, or argillaceous; pudding stone; opposed to agglomerate.
14. See Breccia.
15. To gather into a ball or round body; to collect into a mass. a group of diverse companies under common ownership and run as a single organization composed of heterogeneous elements gathered into a mass; "the conglomerate peoples of New England".
16. A conglomerate is a large business firm consisting of several different companies. Fiat is Italy's largest industrial conglomerate. In petrology, lithified sedimentary rock consisting of rounded fragments larger than.
17. 08 in. (2 mm) in diameter. It is commonly contrasted with breccia. Conglomerates are usually subdivided according to the average size of their constituent materials into pebble (fine), cobble (medium), and boulder (coarse). In business, a widely diversified company, especially a corporation that acquires other firms whose activities are unrelated to its primary activity. Conglomerate mergers are undertaken for many reasons, including the prospect of making additional use of existing facilities, improving the corporation's overall marketing position, decreasing the risk of relying on a single type of product, and effecting corporate reorganization. The practice was widespread in the 1960s and 1980s, but in the 1990s many conglomerates began to sell off unwanted subsidiaries.