Aggregate Meaning
/ˈæɡ.ɹɪ.ɡət/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verb/noun/adjTo combine or collect things together; a whole formed by combining several elements; formed by combining several elements into a whole.
nounA mass, assemblage, or sum of particulars; something consisting of elements but considered as a whole.
Sentence Examples
Simply put, a human being is an aggregate of many cells.
Strawberries and raspberries are both examples of an aggregate fruit.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To determine the total rainfall, we must ____ the daily measurements for the month.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company's ____ revenue exceeded expectations this quarter.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English aggregat(e) (“a sum, unit, complex, aggregate”), borrowed from New Latin aggregātum (“an aggregate”), substantivized from the nominative neuter singular of aggregātus, the perfect passive participle of aggregō (“to flock together”), from ad- (“at, to, toward”)) + gregō (“to flock or group”), from grex (“flock”, greg- in compounds) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See also egregious and gregarious. See also ag-.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"If the nebulosity were due to an aggregate of stars so far off as to be separately indistinguishable, then the central body would have to be a star of almost incomparably greater dimensions than an ordinary star; if, on the other hand, the central body were of dimensions comparable with those of an ordinary star, the nebulosity must be due to something other than a star cluster."
— 1898, Arthur Berry, chapter 12, in A Short History of Astronomy, Herschel:
""Yes sair," returned the Frenchman, whose prominent eyes were watching the precarious footsteps of the beast he rode, as it picked its dangerous way among the roots of trees, holes, log bridges, and sloughs that formed the aggregate of the highway."
— 1823, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 21, in The Pioneers:
"He explained that engineers had been able to examine the bridge visually, and had started surveying likely sites for access roads and where to place the heavyweight crawler crane. NR was also ordering the aggregates needed for the access roads."
— 2020 August 26, “Network News: Mid-September before line reopens, says Network Rail”, in Rail, page 10:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To determine the total rainfall, we must ____ the daily measurements for the month.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company's ____ revenue exceeded expectations this quarter.