con ‧ glom ‧ e ‧ rate /kənˈɡlɒmərət, kənˈɡlɒmərɪt $ -ˈɡlɑː-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of conglomerare 'to roll together' , from com- ( ⇨ COM- ) + glomus 'ball' ]
1 . [countable] a large business organization consisting of several different companies that have joined together:
an international conglomerate
industrial/financial/media etc conglomerate
2 . [uncountable and countable] technical a rock consisting of different sizes of stones held together by clay
3 . [countable] formal a group of things gathered together
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ company an organization that makes or sells something, or provides a service:
big oil companies
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telephone companies
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He runs a software company.
▪ firm a company, especially one that provides a service rather than producing goods:
a law firm
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a firm of accountants
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a security firm
▪ business a company – often used when talking about a company that employs only a small number of people:
She set up her own catering business.
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small businesses
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a family business
▪ corporation a large company that often includes several smaller companies:
IBM is one of the biggest corporations in the world.
▪ multinational a very large company with offices in many different countries:
American multinationals are establishing research and development facilities across the developing world.
▪ conglomerate /kənˈɡlɒmərət, kənˈɡlɒmərɪt $ -ˈɡlɑː-/ a very large company that consists of several different companies which have joined together:
The company was taken over by a German media conglomerate.
▪ giant a word used mainly by newspapers for a very large company:
Their clients include the retail giant, Wal-Mart.
▪ subsidiary a company that is owned by a larger company:
The company runs its New York operations through a US subsidiary.