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combination

/ˈkɑmbəˌneɪʃən/

/kɒmbɪˈneɪʃən/

Other forms: combinations

A combination is a grouping together of separate things. Your desire to live to a big city might come from a combination of your dreams of being on stage, and your obsession with underground trains.

Combination is the act of combining, which comes from the Latin for "joining together two by two," although it's not necessary that you combine things in pairs. Your famous party mix might be a combination of pretzels, nuts, and espresso beans. Your locker combination is the set of numbers you have to dial to open the lock. If you plan to go on a TV talent show, get ready to learn some dance combinations. Kick, spin, drop, roll!

Definitions of combination
  1. noun
    the act of combining things to form a new whole
    synonyms: combining, compounding
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    affixation, attachment
    the act of attaching or affixing something
    confusion
    an act causing a disorderly combination of elements with identities lost and distinctions blended
    admixture, commixture, intermixture, mix, mixing, mixture
    the act of mixing together
    fusion
    the act of fusing (or melting) together
    blend, blending
    the act of blending components together thoroughly
    interspersal, interspersion
    the act of combining one thing at intervals among other things
    temperance
    the act of tempering
    conjugation, jointure, unification, union, uniting
    the act of making or becoming a single unit
    consolidation, integration
    the act of combining into an integral whole
    graft, grafting
    the act of grafting something onto something else
    babel
    a confusion of voices and other sounds
    confluence, conflux, merging
    a flowing together
    homogenisation, homogenization
    the act of making something homogeneous or uniform in composition
    coalescence, coalescency, coalition, concretion, conglutination
    the union of diverse things into one body or form or group; the growing together of parts
    reunification, reunion
    the act of coming together again
    tribalisation, tribalization
    the act of making tribal; unification on a tribal basis
    umbrella
    having the function of uniting a group of similar things
    centralisation, centralization
    the act of consolidating power under a central control
    incorporation
    consolidating two or more things; union in (or into) one body
    amalgamation, merger, uniting
    the combination of two or more commercial companies
    vertical combination, vertical integration
    absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product's manufacture from raw materials to distribution
    horizontal combination, horizontal integration
    absorption into a single firm of several firms involved in the same level of production and sharing resources at that level
    type of:
    change of integrity
    the act of changing the unity or wholeness of something
  2. noun
    a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities
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    haplotype
    (genetics) a combination of alleles (for different genes) that are located closely together on the same chromosome and that tend to be inherited together
    amalgam
    a combination or blend of diverse things
    color scheme, colour scheme
    a planned combination of colors
    complexion
    a combination that results from coupling or interlinking
    type of:
    accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, collection
    several things grouped together or considered as a whole
  3. noun
    the act of arranging elements into specified groups without regard to order
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    mathematical operation, mathematical process, operation
    (mathematics) calculation by mathematical methods
  4. noun
    a group of people (often temporary) having a common purpose
    “they were a winning combination
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    social unit, unit
    an organization regarded as part of a larger social group
  5. noun
    an alliance of people or corporations or countries for a special purpose (formerly to achieve some antisocial end but now for general political or economic purposes)
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    combination in restraint of trade
    (law) any monopoly or contract or combination or conspiracy intended to restrain commerce (which are illegal according to antitrust laws of the United States)
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    alignment, alinement, alliance, coalition
    an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty
  6. noun
    a sequence of numbers or letters that opens a combination lock
    “he forgot the combination to the safe”
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    sequence
    serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern
  7. noun
    a coordinated sequence of chess moves
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    sequence
    serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern
Pronunciation
US

/ˈkɑmbəˌneɪʃən/

UK

/kɒmbɪˈneɪʃən/

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