congregate

[v. kong-gri-geyt; adj. kong-gri-git, -geyt] /v. ˈkɒŋ grɪˌgeɪt; adj. ˈkɒŋ grɪ gɪt, -ˌgeɪt/
verb (used without object), congregated, congregating.
1.
to come together; assemble, especially in large numbers:
People waiting for rooms congregated in the hotel lobby.
verb (used with object), congregated, congregating.
2.
to bring together in a crowd, body, or mass; assemble; collect.
adjective
3.
congregated; assembled.
4.
formed by collecting; collective.
Origin
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
Related forms
congregative, adjective
congregativeness, noun
congregator, noun
decongregate, verb, decongregated, decongregating.
noncongregative, adjective
uncongregated, adjective
uncongregative, adjective
Synonyms
1. gather, collect, throng, cluster.
Examples from the web for congregate
  • Graduate students, who used to congregate in a lounge and the hallways outside the chairman's office, haven't been around since.
  • Fish ripple out as the water rises and congregate as it falls, providing food for wading birds such as the wood stork.
  • In a similar way, the protogalaxies would then merge to form galaxies, and the galaxies would congregate into galaxy clusters.
  • They congregate on the far side, running back and forth, crowding along the bank.
  • The butcher shop, bakery and deli in the back is where serious shoppers congregate.
  • Grizzly bears are by nature solitary, but do congregate at salmon-filled streams in the summertime.
  • Parishioners congregate under this imposing hollow structure, without a single column in sight.
  • Here congregate the village gossips, who justify their presence by an occasional turn at the bellows.
  • Then when our esteemed elected leaders congregate they have an amount that is available and that is it.
  • Some locusts are solitary insects, while some congregate into thick, ravenous swarms.
British Dictionary definitions for congregate

congregate

verb (ˈkɒŋɡrɪˌɡeɪt)
1.
to collect together in a body or crowd; assemble
adjective (ˈkɒŋɡrɪɡɪt; -ˌɡeɪt)
2.
collected together; assembled
3.
relating to collecting; collective
Derived Forms
congregative, adjective
congregativeness, noun
congregator, noun
Word Origin
C15: from Latin congregāre to collect into a flock, from grex flock
Word Origin and History for congregate
v.

mid-15c., from Latin congregatus "flocking together," past participle of congregare "to herd together, collect in a flock, swarm; assemble," from com- "together" (see com-) + gregare "to collect into a flock, gather," from grex (genitive gregis) "a flock" (see gregarious). Related: Congregated; congregating.