congregate
Americanverb (used without object)
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congregates,
present (3rd person singular)
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congregated,
past participle, past
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congregating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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congregates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
congregated,
past participle, past
-
congregating
present participle
adjective
-
congregated; assembled.
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formed by collecting; collective.
verb
adjective
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collected together; assembled
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relating to collecting; collective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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congregativenessnoun
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congregatornoun
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decongregateverb
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congregativeadjective
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noncongregativeadjective
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uncongregatedadjective
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uncongregativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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congregatesimple
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congregatessimple
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have congregatedperfect
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has congregatedperfect
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am congregatingprogressive
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are congregatingprogressive
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is congregatingprogressive
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have been congregatingperfect progressive
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has been congregatingperfect progressive
Past
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congregatedsimple
-
had congregatedperfect
-
was congregatingprogressive
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were congregatingprogressive
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had been congregatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of congregate
1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Latin congregātus (past participle of congregāre to flock together), equivalent to con- con- + greg- (stem of grex ) flock + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Congregate is a verb that means to come together, to assemble, or to gather. At school dances, you may congregate with your friends, because you get nervous in front of kids you don't know very well. Congregate comes from Latin root words com, meaning "together" and gregare, meaning "to gather in a flock." Congregation, or a gathering or assembly, comes from the same roots, as does gregarious, an adjective describing someone who likes to gather with others to socialize. If you remember the key word is flock — what ministers often call their congregations — you should have no trouble remembering congregate means to flock together.
Vocabulary lists containing congregate
Power Prefix: con-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Louvis’s Luncheonette, the place we would all congregate for vanilla Cokes after school, until Mr. Louvis kicked us out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
On Sunday evening, Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff went to play football in Juhu, a leafy, affluent Mumbai neighbourhood where film stars live, fans congregate and celebrity sightings are a part of life.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Large numbers congregate along the Palm Beach County coast each winter, while smaller groups can be found there throughout the year.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
By 2021, they reached South Tufa, where tourists congregate to gaze at the rock formations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
On the other days when there’s no market, people just congregate in the main square for one thing and another: hairdos, shoe repair, or just gossiping in the shade.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Teams that sign free agents or make blockbuster trades during the few days everyone of importance in the MLB universe congregates under one luxury hotel roof get out-sized applause for their moves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
Instead, this 21st Century fanbase congregates more politely on TikTok, Instagram and X, where the hashtag that brings fans, Liam memes, and Bonehead jokes together, is #oasistwt.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2024
In many parts of the deepest ocean, life congregates around seeps—vents in the sea floor where gasses leak out from Earth’s innards and fuel microbial growth, attracting communities of deep-sea invertebrates.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 8, 2022
The Tijaniyya group congregates on Fridays in a brownstone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2016
The day's last flock of gray birds congregates above the seedheads of spent wildflowers and launches across the yellow green into a slate-blue sky.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
And he liked having meals with his family at what is now the Denny’s in Gower Gulch, a place where aspiring cowboy actors once congregated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
With two hours to go, the eclipse-hunters congregated on the westward-facing slope of Picón, clutching the glasses that would make it safe to look at the sun’s corona.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
On a sunny weekend in early May, hundreds congregated at Raw Farm for its annual Camping With the Cows event.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
On Saturday, 500,000 mostly young attendees congregated with Leo outside Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium for a prayer vigil that stretched into the night.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
Our patch of dirt sat not far from the southern fence along E Street, where tourists often congregated to gaze up at the White House.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Pigeons have been leaving a town's High Street looking dirty and efforts to deter the birds from congregating have failed, a mayor has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
So to discourage them from congregating, simply provide less food.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
The day-long convention was over a month in the making, and it was difficult to get day laborers comfortable with congregating in person, Alvarado said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
So when he heard on social media that Germans were congregating in Times Square, Altmeks readily pulled on a jersey of his hero Rudi Voller -- plus a wig mimicking the famed striker's blond curls.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
That butchery business was long ago; surely by now the sharks would be out of the habit of congregating here.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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