| 释义 |
ag·glom·er·ate
I. \-ˌrāt\ verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Latin agglomeratus, past participle of agglomerare to heap up, join, from ad- + glomerare to wind into a ball, to assemble, from glomus ball — more at clam
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to wind or collect into a ball
2. : to gather into a mass or cluster
< agglomerate dust particles >
intransitive verb
: to collect or come together in a mass
< caused the oxide film to agglomerate >
II. \-_rə̇t\ adjective
Etymology: Latin agglomeratus
: collected into a ball, heap, or mass; specifically : clustered or growing together but not coherent
< an agglomerate head of flowers >
III. noun
(-s)
1. : a confused or jumbled mass, heap, or collection
< this fine agglomerate of duchies — Thomas Carlyle >
2. : a rock composed of volcanic fragments of various sizes and degrees of angularity; especially : a rock in which the constituent fragments were produced by explosions in the throat of a volcano — compare conglomerate |