combine

/kəmˈbaɪn//ˈkɒm.baɪn/

combine verb: to bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite. Also the ellipsis of combine harvester.

Verb

combine (third-person singular simple present combines, present participle combining, simple past and past participle combined)

(transitive) To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
- Combine the milk and the hot water in a large bowl.
- I'm combining business and pleasure on this trip.
(transitive) To have two or more things or properties that function together.
- Joe combines the intelligence of a rock with the honesty of a politician.
(intransitive) To come together; to unite.
- two substances that easily combine
- You with your foes combine, / And seem your own destruction to design.1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number)
In the game of casino, to play a card which will take two or more cards whose aggregate number of pips equals those of the card played.
(obsolete) To bind; to hold by a moral tie.
- I am combined by a sacred vow.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...

Noun

IPA/ˈkɑm.baɪn/

combine (plural combines)

Especially, a joint enterprise of whatever legal form for a purpose of business or in any way promoting the interests of the participants, sometimes with monopolistic or fraudulent intentions.
- The telecom companies were accused of having formed an illegal combine in order to hike up the network charges.
- [In the decades before the First World War] In the USA and Germany in particular, huge manufacturing combines were being created and were developing a very powerful economic and increasingly political presence at home and on international markets.2023, David Brandon, The General Strike 1926: A New History, Pen and Sword Books Ltd, →ISBN, page 48
An industrial conglomeration in a socialist country, particularly in the former Soviet bloc.
- His grandmother worked in the stamping plant of the sheet and tin combine.
Synonyms:

kombinat
An artwork falling between painting and sculpture, having objects embedded into a painted surface.
A test match in which applicants play in the hope of earning a position on a professional football team.
- If you purchased this book chances are that you are planning on participating in a football combine or pro-day test.2008, Scott Shetler, Optimal Performance Techniques for the Football Combine, page 5
- In 2008, a study was published that examined the ability of the NFL combine to predict football playing performance in the NFL (Kuzmits and Adams, 2008).2020, Jay R. Hoffman, The Science of American Football

Proper noun capitalized: Combine

the Combine

(colloquial) London Underground

Also used as

combine is also the ellipsis of combine harvester.

combine is also the ellipsis of combine car.

combine meaning in Hindi, Telugu, Nepali and Arabic

combine in Hindi

bring two or more things or activities together: मिलाना milānā

combine in Telugu

bring two or more things or activities together: కలుపు kalupu

combine in Arabic

bring two or more things or activities together: ضَمَّ ḍamma, جَمَعَ jamaʕa

Examples of combine in a sentence

Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.2012 March, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2...
At the combine, Reagor compared himself to the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel or Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill — whom he said he watched “every day”2020 April 23, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York...

All 40 example sentences with combine

Synonyms of combine

kombinat

Antonyms

Forms of combine

Verb
third-person singular present	combines
present participle	combining
past participle	combined
past	combined
Noun
plural	combines

Past tense of combine: combined

Plural of combine: combines

Origin of combine

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English combynyn, from Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combīnāre (“unite, yoke together”), from Latin con- (“together”) + bīnī (“two by two”).

From combine, referring to the merger and purchase of various underground railway, tram and bus companies in London, combining them into one organisation. Originally applied to Underground Electric Railways of London Company Ltd, since used for successor organisations.

Words formed from combine

Phrases with combine

Words that rhyme with combine

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about combine

What does combine mean?: Combine means to bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
What is combine in Hindi?: Combine in Hindi is मिलाना (milānā). See Combine meaning in Hindi.
How do you use combine in a sentence?: Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.
What part of speech is combine?: Combine can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce combine?: Combine is pronounced /kəmˈbaɪn/.
What is the past tense of combine?: The past tense of combine is combined.

Words near combine in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: combine (page history and authors); Combine (page history and authors); combine (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-combine (verb).wav.

Cite this entry: “combine.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/combine. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.