Coalesce

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /kəʊ.əˈlÉ›s/
• US IPA: /koÊŠ.əˈlÉ›s/

Origin

From Latin coalēscō, from co- + alēscō ("grow up").

Full definition of coalesce

Verb

1. (of separate elements) To join into a single mass or whole.The droplets coalesced into a puddle.
• 2005, Plato, Sophist, Translation by Lesley Brown, ,... when a thing's own light and the light from something else coalescing into one on bright and smooth surfaces produce a form which yields a perception reversed from the way a thing normally looks.
2. (of a whole or a unit) To form from different pieces or elements.The puddle coalesced from the droplets as they ran together.
3. (engineering) When two, or more, pieces of metal are bonded together (usually via welding) by liquefying the places where they are to be bonded, coalescing these liquids, and allowing the coalesced liquid to solidify. At the end of this process the two pieces of metal have become one continuous solid.

Synonyms

• (to join into a single mass) amalgamate, combine, join, merge, unite

Related terms

• -esce
• coalescence