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integrate vs merge

Integrate and merge both bring parts into one, with a difference in what the result does. Integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work as one, each with a place and a function. Merge is for separate things to combine into one, losing their separate identity. Integrate makes parts function together; merge fuses them into a single thing.

Quick rule
fit parts into one working whole where each keeps a role→integrate
combine separate things so they become one→merge
integrate

Fig. 1a — integrate.

/ˈɪntɪɡreɪt//ˈɪntɪɡreɪt/·verb
vs
merge

Fig. 1b — merge.

/mɜːrdʒ//mɜːdʒ/·verb

Both make one from parts, but integrate keeps each part working while merge dissolves them. Integrate, from Latin integer 'whole', fits parts into a system so they function together — you integrate a new hire, integrate two software tools. Merge, from mergere 'to plunge', has separate things become one. You integrate a feature into an app; two apps might instead merge into one. One makes parts work as a whole; the other joins two into a single thing.

01What each means

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.

merge

To merge is for two separate things to come together into one — lanes of traffic merge, companies merge, datasets merge. From the Latin mergere 'to plunge or dip', it once meant to sink in, and still carries that sense of one thing taken into another until they are no longer separate. When two firms merge they form a single company; where two rivers merge, one name usually wins. To merge is a broader, often deliberate move than to coalesce, and a close relative of consolidate.

02At a glance
integratemerge
Meaningfit parts into one working wholecombine into one, identity lost
The partseach keeps a place and a roleabsorbed into the whole
Stressesworking together as one systemtwo becoming one
Often withsystems, communities, data, a newcomerlanes, companies, files, colours
Nounintegrationa merger / merging
ExampleIntegrate the two systems.The two systems merged.
03How to remember

Ask whether the parts keep working or dissolve. Integrate fits each part into a system so the whole functions — the missing gear slots in and the row turns as one, every gear still turning. Merge fuses two into one — two lanes becoming a single line. If parts are brought in to work together, that is integrate; if two things become one, that is merge.

04In use

integrate

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

merge

  • iThe two lanes merge just after the bridge.
  • iiThe two companies merged into one.
  • iiiMerge the two databases into one system.

Integrate stresses parts working together as one system, each keeping a role; merge stresses two things becoming one, the parts absorbed. Integrate carries a social sense — bringing someone into full membership — that merge lacks. In tech both appear: you integrate a tool with a system, but merge two datasets into one.

05Asked
What is the difference between integrate and merge?
Integrate is to bring parts into a whole so that they work as one, each with a place and a function, while merge is for separate things to combine into one, losing their separate identity. Integrate makes parts function together; merge fuses them into a single thing. In the scenes above, a missing gear slots in and sets the whole row turning, while two lanes of traffic become one line.
Can integrate and merge be used interchangeably?
Sometimes, for systems coming together — two teams might integrate or merge. But integrate stresses the parts working together within a whole, each keeping a role, while merge stresses two things becoming one. You integrate a new tool with your existing setup; you merge two databases into one. Where each part must keep functioning, integrate is the better fit.
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. Merge has neither the 'working system' nor the 'membership' sense; it simply combines things into one.
What does integrate mean in maths, and merge in computing?
In calculus, to integrate is to find an integral — the area under a curve, the reverse of differentiation. In computing, to merge is to combine two files, datasets or code branches into one. So each has a precise technical sense in a different field — integration accumulates a whole in maths, while merging reconciles data into one in software.
Which prepositions go with integrate and merge?
Integrate takes into (integrate into the team) or with (integrate the app with the website). Merge takes with (merge with a rival) or into (merge into one). Both take 'with' and 'into', so the difference is the result: integrating fits a part into a working whole, while merging combines things into one where the parts are lost.
What are the noun forms of integrate and merge?
Integration and merger. Integration names a bringing of parts into one working whole — social integration, systems integration, or integration in calculus. A merger names two bodies, usually companies, combining into one. One noun stresses parts functioning together; the other, two things becoming a single body.
Do the parts keep working when they integrate or merge?
When parts integrate, they keep working — each has a place and a role within the whole, like gears turning together in the scene above. When things merge, the stress falls on two becoming one, the parts absorbed rather than kept as working units. So integrate is the word when each part must still function; merge when the result is simply a single combined thing.
Related
amalgamate vs integrateamalgamate vs mergeassemble vs integrateblend vs integrate
integrate — full entrymerge — full entry← All synonyms