congregate

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verb

con·​gre·​gate ˈkäŋ-gri-ˌgāt How to pronounce congregate (audio)
congregated; congregating

transitive verb

: to collect into a group or crowd : assemble
The king congregated his knights.

intransitive verb

: to come together into a group, crowd, or assembly
Students congregated in the auditorium.
congregator noun

congregate

2 of 2

adjective

con·​gre·​gate ˈkäŋ-gri-gət How to pronounce congregate (audio)
: providing or being group services or facilities designed especially for elderly persons requiring supportive services
congregate housing
Choose the Right Synonym for congregate

gather, collect, assemble, congregate mean to come or bring together into a group, mass, or unit.

gather is the most general term for bringing or coming together from a spread-out or scattered state.

a crowd quickly gathered

collect often implies careful selection or orderly arrangement.

collected books on gardening

assemble implies an ordered union or organization of persons or things often for a definite purpose.

experts assembled for a conference

congregate implies a spontaneous flocking together into a crowd or huddle.

congregating under a shelter

Examples of congregate in a Sentence

Verb It's a place where the homeless congregate. Skiers congregated around the lodge's fireplace.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Further confounding the picture, five of the no-camping locations were centered on shelters where people often congregate, either hoping to obtain a bed or after being evicted for violating rules. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The virus has proven potent enough to jump from birds to mammals, striking elephant seals and other marine mammals that congregate on shore. Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 While white musicians skedaddled to the suburbs, Black jazz virtuosos sought solace in the neighborhoods where their racial identity was welcomed — ultimately congregating into two enclaves in the borough. Mia Jackson, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024 During the early hours of Jan. 1, an SUV filled with gasoline canisters crashed into a group of people congregating outside the venue, killing two people and injuring another five. Thania Garcia, Variety, 2 Jan. 2024 The first structural engineer who inspected the building told Wulf and his team that the church was not a safe place for groups to congregate. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 And while that was happening out front, the people who would become icons in the worlds of politics, music, and comedy were congregating in the back, washing dishes and waiting tables. Tori Latham, Robb Report, 26 Feb. 2024 But as more and more children congregated in the area, often rolling themselves down the hill with the eggs, the grounds grew damaged and Congress, in 1876, passed a law forbidding children from using the area as a playground. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024 No matter the level of seasoning that was or wasn’t on his food, small beads of sweat would begin to congregate atop his head—a few small ones at first, which tumbled down his forehead or toward his ears to make way for a newer, more robust set of drops. Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2024
Adjective
The shelter plans propose sleeping space for almost 280 people in congregate and non-congregate spaces, RV parking, shaded outdoor areas, storage and laundry. The Arizona Republic, 3 Feb. 2023 For those who lack Roberson’s institutional experience, particularly people with fragile mental health, drug addiction, or both, congregate city shelters can be frightening and dangerous. Jennifer Egan, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023 San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced Tuesday that the 33-room Seniors Landing bridge shelter will be run by the nonprofit Serving Seniors, which has been pushing for a non-congregate shelter for older homeless people since releasing a needs assessment report for seniors in September 2021. San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Dec. 2022 Just two years after registering with the state, the nonprofit now runs the non-congregate shelter at the Aviator Hotel downtown, the 200-bed low barrier shelter inside the Sullivan, and is moving to operate another 55 units at the former Alex Hotel that the city recently acquired. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Oct. 2022 Two of the 68 new cases reported were from congregate living facilities, one a staff member at Copper Ridge and the other a case at a facility so small the health department does not identify it out of privacy concerns. Bob Blubaugh, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 12 Apr. 2021 Many know one another and congregate at Totemoff's Bar and Grill, a mid-mountain cafeteria that feels unchanged since the '80s. Candice Rainey, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2023 Hicks said those families — which now comprise 20 percent to 25 percent of the agency’s congregate shelter households — face particular stresses this season. John Laidler, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Dec. 2022 Masks continue to be compulsory indoors at healthcare and congregate-care facilities, at business where required and for anyone who has been exposed to COVID in the last 10 days. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 8 Dec. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'congregate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin congregatus, past participle of congregare, from com- + greg-, grex flock

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Adjective

1900, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of congregate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near congregate

Cite this Entry

“Congregate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/congregate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

congregate

verb
con·​gre·​gate
ˈkäŋ-gri-ˌgāt
congregated; congregating
: to come together into a group or crowd
congregator
-ˌgāt-ər
noun
Etymology

Verb

Middle English congregaten "to collect or assemble together," derived from Latin congregare "to assemble, gather," from con-, com- "with, together" and gregare "to gather into a flock or herd," from greg-, grex "flock, herd" — related to aggregate, gregarious, segregate

More from Merriam-Webster on congregate

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