congregate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
congregated; assembled.
-
formed by collecting; collective.
verb
adjective
-
collected together; assembled
-
relating to collecting; collective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
The waters off the Indian Ocean coast where throngs of swimmers will soon congregate are home to the world’s three most-dangerous shark species.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026
Each competing country has a dedicated coffee house in the city for fans to congregate at.
From Barron's • May 12, 2026
He explained that, if seals have smaller areas of sea ice available to them, they will congregate in those smaller areas, presenting easier collective pickings for bears.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026
There was a dustup with 10 seconds left when UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. pushed Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter after absorbing a hard foul, forcing a scrum of players to congregate along the baseline.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2026
Come November, as the weather turns cold across the rest of the country, some five thousand snowbirds and drifters and sundry vagabonds congregate in this otherworldly setting to live on the cheap under the sun.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
