Home / Synonyms / combine vs integrateNo. 0210

combine vs integrate

Combine and integrate both bring parts together, with a difference in what results. Combine is to bring separate things together into one set, where each part keeps its identity. Integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work as one, each with a place and a function. Combine gathers parts together; integrate makes them function as one system.

Quick rule
bring separate things together into one set→combine
fit parts into one working whole where each has a role→integrate
combine

Fig. 1a — combine.

/kəmˈbaɪn//kəmˈbaɪn/·verb, noun
vs
integrate

Fig. 1b — integrate.

/ˈɪntɪɡreɪt//ˈɪntɪɡreɪt/·verb

Both make one from parts, but integrate makes the parts work together. Combine, from com- 'together', brings separate things into a single set — the parts sit together but need not act as one. Integrate, from Latin integer 'whole', fits parts into a system so they function together, each with a role. You combine two lists into one; you integrate a new tool into your workflow so it works with the rest. One gathers; the other makes a working whole.

01What each means

combine

To combine is to bring two or more things together so they work or count as one — combine ingredients, combine forces, combine two datasets. From the Latin com- 'together' and bini 'two by two'. What is combined is pooled for a purpose, but the parts often stay distinguishable, unlike things that merge or fuse into a single body. As a noun, with the stress moved to the front, a combine is the farm machine that combines reaping, threshing, and gathering into one pass.

integrate

To integrate is to bring parts together so they function as one whole — from the Latin integrare, 'to make whole'. New software integrates with your calendar; a recruit integrates into a team; separated groups integrate into shared, equal community life. What is integrated stops being an add-on and becomes a working part of the system, the way a gear that meshes lets the whole train turn. It is stronger than to combine: the parts do not just sit together, they work together.

02At a glance
combineintegrate
Meaningbring together into one setfit parts into one working whole
The partssit together, each still itselfeach keeps a place and a role
Stressesgathering into oneworking together as one system
Often withingredients, forces, ideas, datasystems, communities, tools, a newcomer
Nouncombinationintegration
ExampleCombine the two lists.Integrate the two systems.
03How to remember

Ask whether the parts just sit together or work together. Combine gathers them into one set — berries and oats sharing a bowl. Integrate fits each part into a system so the whole functions — the missing gear slotting in and the row turning as one. If separate things are brought together into one, that is combine; if they are fitted in so they work as one, that is integrate.

04In use

combine

  • iCombine the wet and dry ingredients.
  • iiThe plan combines public and private funding.
  • iiiSeveral factors combined to cause the delay.

integrate

  • iThe school works to integrate new pupils.
  • iiThey integrated the tool into their workflow.
  • iiiThe feature is fully integrated into the app.

Combine gathers separate things into one set; integrate fits parts into a working whole where each keeps a role. Integrate carries a social sense — bringing someone into full, equal membership — that combine lacks. You can combine things that never interact; integrated parts must function together.

05Asked
What is the difference between combine and integrate?
Combine is to bring separate things together into one set, where each part keeps its identity, while integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work as one, each with a place and a function. Combine gathers parts together; integrate makes them function as one system. In the scenes above, berries and oats share a bowl, while a missing gear slots in and sets the whole row turning.
Can combine and integrate be used interchangeably?
Only up to a point. Both bring parts together, but integrate insists that the parts then work together as a functioning whole, while combine allows them simply to sit together in a set. You can combine two datasets side by side; you integrate a tool so it works with your existing system. Where the parts must function together, integrate is the better word.
Does integrate mean to combine or to include?
Both senses are close. To integrate parts is to fit them into one working system (integrate the modules); to integrate a person is to bring them into full, equal membership of a community. The shared idea is parts becoming a functioning whole while keeping their place. Combine has neither the 'working system' nor the 'membership' sense; it simply brings things together into one set.
What does integrate mean in maths?
In calculus, to integrate is to find an integral — a definite integral gives the area under a curve, and integration is the reverse of differentiation. Combine has its own maths sense in counting: a combination is a selection where order does not matter, unlike a permutation. So both appear in mathematics, in unrelated topics — one accumulating a whole, the other counting selections.
Which prepositions go with combine and integrate?
Combine takes with (combine cream with sugar) or a plural object alone (combine the ingredients). Integrate takes into (integrate into the team) or with (integrate the app with the website). So you combine one thing with another into a set, while a part is integrated into a whole or with another part so the two work together.
Which stresses that parts keep working, combine or integrate?
Integrate does. Its whole point is that each part keeps a role within a functioning whole — like gears turning together, every one still turning. Combine stresses only that things are brought together into one set; they may sit side by side without interacting. So if each part must keep functioning within the result, the word you want is integrate.
What are the noun forms of combine and integrate?
Combination and integration. Combination names things brought together into one set, with everyday senses too (a lock's code). Integration names a bringing of parts into one working whole — social integration, systems integration, or integration in calculus. One noun stresses gathering, the other parts functioning together.
Related
amalgamate vs combineamalgamate vs integrateassemble vs combineassemble vs integrate
combine — full entryintegrate — full entry← All synonyms