Combine
Pronunciation
Verb- enPR: kəm-bīn', IPA: /kəmˈbaɪn/
- Rhymes: -aɪn
- UK IPA: /ˈkɒm.baɪn/
- US enPR: käm'bīn, IPA: /ˈkɑm.baɪn/
- Rhymes: -ɒmbaɪn
Origin
From Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combÄ«nÄre, present active infinitive of combÄ«nÅ ("unite, yoke together"), from Latin com- ("together") + bÄ«nÄ« ("two by two").
Full definition of combine
Verb
- (transitive) To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
- John DrydenYou with your foes combine,
And seem your own destruction to design. - Sir Walter ScottSo sweet did harp and voice combine.
- 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, The British Longitude Act Reconsidered, Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.
- Combine the milk and the hot water in a large bowl. I'm combining business and pleasure on this trip.
- (transitive) To have two or more things or properties that function together.Joe combines the intelligence of a rock with the honesty of a politician.
- (intransitive) To come together; to unite.two substances that easily combine
- (card games) In the game of casino, to play a card which will take two or more cards whose aggregate number of pips equals those of the card played.
- (obsolete) To bind; to hold by a moral tie.
- William ShakespeareI am combined by a sacred vow.
Derived terms
Noun
combine
(plural combines)- A combine harvesterWe can't finish harvesting because our combine is stuck in the mud.
- A combination
- Especially, a joint enterprise of whatever legal form for a purpose of business or in any way promoting the interests of the participants, sometimes with monopolistic intentions.The telecom companies were accused of having formed an illegal combine in order to hike up the network charges.
- An industrial conglomeration in a socialist country, particularly in the former Soviet bloc.