conglomerate
n. C / Un. a very large company that is made up of several smaller companies. These smaller companies often do very different types of business.
n. a large corporation formed by the merger of several separate and often diverse companies. In a geological context, refers to a coarse-grained sedimentary rock composed of rounded fragments within a cementing matrix.
The international conglomerate owns several TV stations and a major airline.
After the merger, the tech conglomerate expanded its reach into the healthcare and renewable energy sectors.
Critics argue that when a massive conglomerate controls both the production and distribution of goods, it stifles competition and limits consumer choice within the global marketplace.
First attested in the second part of the 16ᵗʰ century; from Latin conglomerātus, perfect passive participle of conglomerō (“to pile into a heap, to roll together”) (see -ate (Etymology 1, 2 and 3)), from con- (prefix indicating a being or bringing together of several objects) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱóm (“beside, by, near, with”)) + glomerāre (from glomerō (“to pile into a heap, to make into a ball, glomerate”), from glomus (“ball of thread; ball-shaped mass”), from Proto-Indo-European gel- (“to form into a ball; ball”)).
Countable when referring to specific business entities or rock formations; uncountable when referring to the general material in geology.