aggregate

aggregate — noun

1. a single figure or quantity reached by joining several smaller numbers, items, o

1.nounC1
Definition

a single figure or quantity reached by joining several smaller numbers, items, or groups so that the parts are counted as one whole.

Example

The aggregate of donations from twelve schools paid for the new library shelves.

the aggregate of + plural noun

In the aggregate, families in the village earn less than five hundred dollars a month.

fixed phrase: in the aggregate

Common collocations
  • aggregate of donations
  • aggregate of votes
  • yearly aggregate
  • in the aggregate
Synonyms
  • total

    everyday word; aggregate stresses that parts came from separate sources

  • sum

    result of simple addition; aggregate suggests a broader pooling

  • whole

    less numerical; emphasises completeness rather than a figure

Antonyms
  • part

    any single contribution before pooling

  • individual

    the unpooled, separate item

Grammar Patterns

the aggregate of [things]

in (the) aggregate

Usage Note

Frequently formal and statistical; common in reports, accounting, and academic writing. Often appears in the fixed phrase 'in (the) aggregate' meaning 'when counted as one whole'.

Common Mistakes

The team made an aggregate goal in the second half.
The team made the winning goal in the second half.
sense 1 is a calculated total, not a single event.

2. in football and similar two-leg knockout matches, the combined goal count from b

2.nounC1
Definition

in football and similar two-leg knockout matches, the combined goal count from both games, used to decide which side advances when each team has won or drawn one game.

Example

Liverpool beat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate after a thrilling second leg in Spain.

X-Y on aggregate after the second leg

Although Arsenal won the home game, they lost on aggregate by a single goal.

win/lose on aggregate

Common collocations
  • win on aggregate
  • lose on aggregate
  • tied on aggregate
  • go through on aggregate
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

win/lose/draw on aggregate

X on aggregate (e.g. 4-3 on aggregate)

Usage Note

Almost always appears in the fixed phrase 'on aggregate', referring to two-leg cup ties in football, rugby, or hockey. Rare in American sports vocabulary, where teams play a 'series' instead.

Common Mistakes

Brazil beat Spain in aggregate.
Brazil beat Spain on aggregate.
the fixed preposition is 'on', not 'in'.

3. loose hard pieces — including sand, gravel, slag, or crushed rock — that get mix

3.nounC2
Definition

loose hard pieces — including sand, gravel, slag, or crushed rock — that get mixed into cement so the resulting concrete sets strong enough for walls, floors, or roadbeds.

Example

The truck dropped a fresh load of aggregate beside the half-built garden wall.

load/pile of aggregate

Workers shovelled coarse aggregate into the mixer before adding cement and water.

coarse/fine aggregate

Common collocations
  • coarse aggregate
  • fine aggregate
  • recycled aggregate
  • load of aggregate
Synonyms
  • ballast

    specifically the stones laid under railway tracks

  • gravel

    one type of aggregate; aggregate is the broader cover term

Grammar Patterns

aggregate for [purpose]

mix [cement] with aggregate

Usage Note

Construction-industry term, usually uncountable. Often modified by 'fine', 'coarse', 'recycled', or 'crushed' to specify grain size or origin. Distinguish from sense 1: this aggregate is a physical material, not a calculated number.

Common Mistakes

They poured concrete and aggregates over the path.
They poured concrete and aggregate over the path.
uncountable in this sense; no plural -s.
Idioms

in (the) aggregate

idiom

Considering all parts together as a whole.

In the aggregate, the company's profits increased by 15% this year.

The team's performance, in the aggregate, was better than last season.

on aggregate

idiom

When the total scores from multiple games are combined.

Barcelona won the tie 5-3 on aggregate after two matches.

Did the Lakers advance on aggregate after the playoff series?

aggregate — adjective

aggregate — verb

Word family

  • aggregation
    nounC2
  • aggregator
    nounC2
  • disaggregate
    verbC2
  • disaggregation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four verbs describe bringing separate items together, but they differ in scope, register, and what gets joined. 'Collect' is the most everyday word and works for almost anything, from stamps to rainwater; it does not imply later analysis. 'Compile' suggests careful, often slower assembly into a finished document or list — you compile a report, a playlist, or a dictionary. 'Pool' is informal and stresses sharing: friends pool money for a gift, departments pool staff during a crisis. 'Aggregate' is the most formal and the most analytical: it implies that the parts will be counted, measured, or studied as one larger figure or set, which is why news sites aggregate headlines and researchers aggregate test scores rather than 'collecting' them.

aggregate ↗compile ↗collect ↗pool ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • in the aggregate
  • on aggregate
  • aggregate demand and supply
  • aggregate score

Prepositions

  • from (sources)
  • into (a whole)
  • across (groups)
  • over (a period)

Etymology

LatinLate Middle EnglishModern English

Borrowed into English in the late 1300s from Latin 'aggregatus', the past participle of 'aggregare' meaning 'to add to a flock'. The Latin verb itself was built from 'ad-' (to, toward) and 'grex, gregis' (a flock or herd) — the same root that gives us 'gregarious' and 'congregate'. Originally the word in English carried this image of gathering animals into one group, but by the 1500s it had broadened into its modern abstract sense of any total formed by combining smaller parts. The construction-material noun sense developed much later, in the 1800s, when civil engineers needed a single word for the mixed sand and stone added to cement.