merge
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to join two or more things together to form one single thing.
v.to combine or cause to combine to form a single entity.
Simple“The two small companies decided to merge to become more competitive.”
In context“The board of directors voted to merge the two subsidiaries into a single entity to streamline operations and reduce overhead costs.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to change slowly until one thing becomes part of another.
v.to blend or disappear gradually into something else.
Simple“The sea and the sky seemed to merge on the horizon.”
In context“In his later paintings, the sharp outlines of the figures begin to merge with the abstract background, creating a sense of fluid motion.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to move into a different lane of traffic.
v.to move from one lane of traffic into another, or for two lanes of traffic to join together.
Simple“You should check your mirror before you merge into the fast lane.”
In context“Drivers are encouraged to use both lanes until the point of closure and then merge alternately, a technique known as zipper merging.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'into'.
- 04 C1 Advanced
n.the act of joining two or more things together.
n.the act or instance of combining multiple sources or entities into one.
Simple“The software update performs a merge of all your old files into the new system.”
In context“The developer initiated a code merge to integrate the new features from the experimental branch into the main project repository.”
SynonymsAntonyms
“On ordinary metal surfaces, small droplets often merge into a continuous film of water.”
“Smaller droplets take longer to merge into raindrops, which can delay rainfall or shift it to another location downwind .”
Borrowed from Latin mergō (“to dip; dip in; plunge; sink down into; immerse; overwhelm”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.