congregate

[ verb kong-gri-geyt; adjective kong-gri-git, -geyt ]
See synonyms for congregate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),con·gre·gat·ed, con·gre·gat·ing.
  1. to come together; assemble, especially in large numbers: People waiting for rooms congregated in the hotel lobby.

verb (used with object),con·gre·gat·ed, con·gre·gat·ing.
  1. to bring together in a crowd, body, or mass; assemble; collect.

adjective
  1. congregated; assembled.

  2. formed by collecting; collective.

Origin of congregate

1
1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) <Latin congregātus (past participle of congregāre to flock together), equivalent to con-con- + greg- (stem of grex) flock + -ātus-ate1

Other words for congregate

Other words from congregate

  • con·gre·ga·tive, adjective
  • con·gre·ga·tive·ness, noun
  • con·gre·ga·tor, noun
  • de·con·gre·gate, verb, de·con·gre·gat·ed, de·con·gre·gat·ing.
  • non·con·gre·ga·tive, adjective
  • un·con·gre·gat·ed, adjective
  • un·con·gre·ga·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use congregate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for congregate

congregate

verb(ˈkɒŋɡrɪˌɡeɪt)
  1. to collect together in a body or crowd; assemble

adjective(ˈkɒŋɡrɪɡɪt, -ˌɡeɪt)
  1. collected together; assembled

  2. relating to collecting; collective

Origin of congregate

1
C15: from Latin congregāre to collect into a flock, from grex flock

Derived forms of congregate

  • congregative, adjective
  • congregativeness, noun
  • congregator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012