Adjacent Words

Combination definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

COMBINATION, n.
1. Intimate union, or association of two or more persons or things, by set purpose or agreement, for effecting some object, by joint operation; in a good sense, when the object is laudable; in an ill sense, when it is illegal or iniquitous. It is sometimes equivalent to league, or to conspiracy. We say, a combination of men to overthrow government, or a combination to resist oppression.
2. An assemblage; union of particulars; as a combination of circumstances.
3. Commixture; union of bodies or qualities in a mass or compound; as, to make new compounds by new combinations.
4. Chimical union; union by affinity.
Mix dry acid of tartar with dry carbonate of potash; no combination will ensue, till water is added.
5. In mathematics, the union of numbers or quantities in every possible manner; or the variation or alteration of any number of quantities, letters, sounds, or the like, in all the different manners possible. The number of possible changes or combinations is found by multiplying the terms 1.2.3.4.5 continually into each other. Thus 1x2=
2: 2x3=
6: 6x4=
24: 24x5=120. etc. So the permutations of five quantities amount to 120. The changes that may be rung on twelve bells amount to 479,001,600. And the twenty four letters of the alphabet admit of 62,044,840,173,323,943,936,000 changes or combinations.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities
2: a coordinated sequence of chess moves
3: a sequence of numbers or letters that opens a combination lock; "he forgot the combination to the safe"
4: a group of people (often temporary) having a common purpose; "they were a winning combination"
5: an alliance of people or corporations or countries for a special purpose (formerly to achieve some antisocial end but now for general political or economic purposes)
6: the act of arranging elements into specified groups without regard to order
7: the act of combining things to form a new whole [syn: combination, combining, compounding]

Merriam Webster's

noun Usage: often attributive Date: 14th century 1. a. a result or product of combining; especially an alliance of individuals, corporations, or states united to achieve a social, political, or economic end b. two or more persons working as a team 2. an ordered sequence: as a. a sequence of letters or numbers chosen in setting a lock; also the mechanism operating or moved by the sequence b. a rapid sequence of punches in boxing c. any subset of a set considered without regard to order within the subset 3. any of various one-piece undergarments for the upper and lower parts of the body — usually used in plural 4. an instrument designed to perform two or more tasks 5. a. the act or process of combining; especially that of uniting to form a chemical compound b. the quality or state of being combined • combinational adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or an instance of combining; the process of being combined. 2 a combined state (in combination with). 3 a combined set of things or people. 4 a sequence of numbers or letters used to open a combination lock. 5 Brit. a motor cycle with side-car attached. 6 (in pl.) Brit. a single undergarment for the body and legs. 7 a group of things chosen from a larger number without regard to their arrangement. 8 a united action. b Chess a coordinated and effective sequence of moves. 9 Chem. a union of substances in a compound with new properties. Phrases and idioms: combination lock a lock that can be opened only by a specific sequence of movements. Derivatives: combinative adj. combinational adj. combinatory adj. Etymology: obs. F combination or LL combinatio (as COMBINE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Combination Com`bi*na"tion, n. [LL. combinatio. See Combine.] 1. The act or process of combining or uniting persons and things. Making new compounds by new combinations. --Boyle. A solemn combination shall be made Of our dear souls. --Shak. 2. The result of combining or uniting; union of persons or things; esp. a union or alliance of persons or states to effect some purpose; -- usually in a bad sense. A combination of the most powerful men in Rome who had conspired my ruin. --Melmoth. 3. (Chem.) The act or process of uniting by chemical affinity, by which substances unite with each other in definite proportions by weight to form distinct compounds. 4. pl. (Math.) The different arrangements of a number of objects, as letters, into groups. Note: In combinations no regard is paid to the order in which the objects are arranged in each group, while in variations and permutations this order is respected. --Brande & C. Combination car, a railroad car containing two or more compartments used for different purposes. [U. S.] Combination lock, a lock in which the mechanism is controlled by means of a movable dial (sometimes by several dials or rings) inscribed with letters or other characters. The bolt of the lock can not be operated until after the dial has been so turned as to combine the characters in a certain order or succession. Combination room, in the University of Cambridge, Eng., a room into which the fellows withdraw after dinner, for wine, dessert, and conversation. Combination by volume (Chem.), the act, process, or ratio by which gaseous elements and compounds unite in definite proportions by volume to form distinct compounds. Combination by weight (Chem.), the act, process, or ratio, in which substances unite in proportions by weight, relatively fixed and exact, to form distinct compounds. See Law of definite proportions, under Definite. Syn: Cabal; alliance; association; league; union; confederacy; coalition; conspiracy. See Cabal.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(combinations) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. A combination of things is a mixture of them. ...a fantastic combination of colours. ...the combination of science and art. N-COUNT: usu N of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Union, conjunction, connection, association. 2. Alliance, coalition, confederacy, league, complot, conspiracy, cabal. 3. Mixture, compound, amalgamation.

Moby Thesaurus

Bund, Rochdale cooperative, accompaniment, accord, accordance, addition, adjunct, admixture, affairs, affiliation, affinity, agglomeration, agglutination, aggregate, aggregation, agreement, alignment, alliance, alloy, alloyage, amalgam, amalgamation, approximation, array, articulation, assemblage, assembly, association, axis, band, blend, blending, bloc, body, bond, bracketing, brew, building, buildup, cabal, cahoots, call-up, canvass, cartel, census, circle, clique, closeness, clustering, co-working, coaction, coadunation, coalescence, coalition, coincidence, collaboration, colleagueship, collection, collectivity, college, collegialism, collegiality, colligation, collocation, colloid, collusion, combine, combined effort, combo, comminglement, commingling, commixture, common market, communication, comparison, composite, composition, compound, comradeship, concatenation, concert, concerted action, concoction, concomitance, concordance, concourse, concurrence, confection, confederacy, confederation, confluence, conflux, confraternity, congeries, conglomerate, conglomeration, congregation, conjugation, conjunction, connectedness, connection, consilience, consolidation, consortium, conspiracy, constitution, construction, consumer cooperative, contiguity, contrariety, convergence, cooperation, cooperative, cooperative society, copartnership, copartnery, copulation, corps, corralling, correspondence, coterie, council, coupling, credit union, customs union, data-gathering, dealings, decoction, decoctum, deduction, disjunction, eclecticism, economic community, embodiment, emulsion, ensemble, fabrication, faction, fashioning, federation, fellowship, filiation, formation, fraternalism, fraternity, fraternization, free trade area, freemasonry, fusion, gang, gathering, getup, group, grouping, homology, hookup, identification, identity, immixture, inclusion, incorporation, individuality, indivisibility, ingathering, intactness, integrality, integration, integrity, intercommunication, intercourse, interfusion, interlarding, interlardment, interlinking, interminglement, intermingling, intermixture, intimacy, inventory, inviolability, irreducibility, joinder, joining, jointure, junction, juxtaposition, knotting, league, liaison, link, linkage, linking, machine, magma, make, makeup, marriage, meeting, melding, mergence, merger, merging, mingling, mix, mixing, mixture, mob, mobilization, mosaic, muster, mutual attraction, nearness, oneness, organic unity, organization, pairing, parasitism, particularity, partnership, party, paste, patchwork, piecing together, pluralism, political machine, pool, propinquity, proximity, purity, putting together, rapport, relatedness, relation, relations, relationship, ring, rodeo, roundup, saprophytism, selfsameness, set, setup, shaping, similarity, simplicity, simultaneity, singleness, singularity, society, sodality, solidarity, solidification, solidity, solution, sorority, splice, structure, structuring, survey, suspension, symbiosis, sympathy, synchronism, syncretism, syndicate, syndication, syneresis, synergy, synthesis, tie, tie-in, tie-up, togetherness, trust, undividedness, unification, uniformity, union, uniqueness, united action, unity, univocity, wholeness, yoking