agglomeration

ag·glom·er·a·tion | \ ə-ˌglä-mə-ˈrā-shən

How to pronounce agglomeration (audio)

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Definition of agglomeration

1 : the action or process of collecting in a mass the agglomeration of matter into stars and galaxies

2 : a heap or cluster of usually disparate (see disparate sense 1) elements … an agglomeration of 100-year-old cottages with gingerbread scroll-saw ornamentation.— Ira Henry Freeman

3 : a large, densely and contiguously populated area consisting of a city and its suburbs an urban agglomeration

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Examples of agglomeration in a Sentence

This suburb has become just a vast agglomeration of houses, people, and cars. a mere agglomeration of warring tribes, it was far from being a unified nation

Recent Examples on the Web The most populated part of Malta is a dense agglomeration of towns near Valletta, the capital. — Teju Cole, New York Times, "In Dark Times, I Sought Out the Turmoil of Caravaggio’s Paintings," 23 Sep. 2020 The dots on Toxmap cluster around major cities, forming dense agglomerations in the country’s most populated corridors. — Michael Schulson, Scientific American, "Federal Toxmap Shutters, Raising the Ire of Pollution Researchers," 17 Dec. 2019 A century earlier, technology spurred agglomeration. — Bloomberg.com, "Robots Pose Biggest Risk to the Poorest Countries," 29 Apr. 2020 The comet consists of a loose agglomeration of ices and dust particles, and is likely no more than 3,200 feet across, about the length of nine football fields. — Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "'Snowman from a dark and cold place': Interstellar comet is an unusual visitor from outer space," 20 Apr. 2020 That’s the case with Jane South, who’s known for her elaborate paper constructions that look like agglomerations of architectural and mechanical parts. — New York Times, "New York Art Galleries: The Virtual Experience," 17 Mar. 2020 Wuhan is a megacity with a population upwards of 11 million people—more than Los Angeles county, the most populous urban agglomeration in the US. — Adam Rogers, Wired, "Would the Coronavirus Quarantine of Wuhan Even Work?," 22 Jan. 2020 The dots on Toxmap cluster around major cities, forming dense agglomerations in the country’s most populated corridors. — Michael Schulson/undark, Popular Science, "U.S. government ‘retires’ (read removes) detailed pollution map from internet," 24 Dec. 2019 Temporary agglomeration into ethnic enclaves, as in Sweden, may help immigrants in the short run. — The Economist, "Denmark wants to break up ethnic enclaves. What is wrong with them?," 28 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'agglomeration.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near agglomeration

agglomeration economy

agglutinability

Statistics for agglomeration

Last Updated

30 Sep 2020

Cite this Entry

“Agglomeration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agglomeration. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

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