Origin: Latin suffix -ate
Aggregate has 10 different meanings across 3 categories:
material such as sand or gravel used with cement and water to make concrete, mortar, or plaster
"The construction crew mixed wet cement with coarse aggregate to pour the foundation."
a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together
"The final report presented an aggregate of diverse data points from various departments to reveal the company's overall performance."
A mass, assemblage, or sum of particulars; something consisting of elements but considered as a whole.
"The final report aggregated data from all regional offices to present a comprehensive view of the company's performance."
In plain English: An aggregate is everything combined into one single total amount.
"The company decided to increase its advertising budget based on the aggregate sales figures from last quarter."
Usage: Use "aggregate" when referring to the total amount resulting from combining individual parts, such as aggregate sales figures for an entire year. This term is often confused with synonyms like "sum," but it specifically emphasizes that the whole consists of distinct elements gathered together rather than a simple arithmetic addition.
amount in the aggregate to
"When you add up all the individual sales figures, they amount in the aggregate to over a million dollars."
To bring together; to collect into a mass or sum.
"The committee will aggregate all the survey responses before presenting their final report."
In plain English: To aggregate means to collect many separate things into one single group.
"The company will aggregate all customer feedback to improve their service."
formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole
"aggregate expenses include expenses of all divisions combined for the entire year"
"the aggregated amount of indebtedness"
composed of a dense cluster of separate units such as carpels or florets or drupelets
"raspberries are aggregate fruits"
Formed by a collection of particulars into a whole mass or sum; collective; combined; added up.
"The total sales figure was calculated by aggregating the daily revenues from every store location."
In plain English: Aggregate means made up of many different parts combined into one whole group.
"The aggregate cost of all our daily purchases was surprisingly high."
The word aggregate entered English via Middle French as a sum or collection, derived ultimately from the Latin verb meaning "to flock together." Its roots lie in grex, which means "flock," combined with a prefix indicating movement toward that group.