Coalesce

WORD OF THE DAY


coalesce \ koh-uh-LESS \ verb
 
Definition
1: to grow together
2a: to unite into a whole
2b: fuse
2c: to unite for a common end
2d: join forces
3: to arise from the combination of distinct elements


Examples
"Parties typically struggle to coalesce on complex legislative issues."
— Frances Lee, The Washington Post, 23 July 2017


"Their first gig was at the Kennedy Center. More gigs followed, ... and the musicians coalesced into a working band, on the road three weeks out of every month."
— Fred Kaplan, The New Yorker, 22 May 2017


Did You Know?
Coalesce unites the prefix co- ("together") and the Latin verb alescere, meaning "to grow." (The words adolescent and adult also grew from alescere.) Coalesce, which first appeared in English in the mid-16th century, is one of a number of verbs in English (along with mix, commingle, merge, and amalgamate) that refer to the act of combining parts into a whole. In particular, coalesce usually implies the merging of similar parts to form a cohesive unit.