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aggregate

/ˈæɡrɪɡeɪt//ˈæɡrɪɡeɪt/·verb
to gather many separate things into a single whole or total
Fig. 1 — A dark panel wakes: four small tiles, each holding its own little chart and its own count, none of them large.
01Definition

To aggregate is to bring many separate items together and treat them as one — a combined whole, a single total. You aggregate scores, data, demand, opinions: the diverse parts stay countable, but the point is now the sum, not the pieces. The word carries a strong sense of variety pooled into one figure, which is why economists speak of aggregate demand and a two-legged tie is decided on aggregate. Watch the pronunciation: the verb ends in a full '-gate' (/eɪt/), while the noun and adjective soften it to '-gət' — an aggregate of many parts.

02In use
  • iThe site aggregates reviews from a dozen sources into one score you can quantify at a glance.
  • iiEconomists aggregate household spending, investment, and government outlays into total demand.
  • iiiKnocked out on away goals, they lost 4–3 on aggregate over the two legs.
03Collocations
  • in aggregate
  • on aggregate
  • aggregate demand
  • aggregate the data
  • aggregate score

Family aggregation (noun) · aggregated (adjective) · aggregator (noun)

04Relations

=combine, amass, accumulate, collect, total

≠separate, disaggregate

06TOEFL & IELTS

A precise academic verb for combining data or figures, and a favourite of economics and statistics passages (aggregate demand, aggregate output). In IELTS Task 1 'the aggregate figure' or 'in aggregate' reads better than 'the total of everything'. The exam trap is the stress-and-vowel split — the verb is AG-ri-gate with a full final vowel, the noun and adjective AG-ri-gət — same spelling, same first-syllable stress, and swapping the vowels is a common speaking slip. Note the fixed phrases: data is reported in aggregate; a football tie is won on aggregate.

07Asked
Is aggregate pronounced differently as a verb and a noun?
Yes — same spelling, different final vowel. The verb (to combine) is AG-ri-gate, /ˈæɡrɪɡeɪt/, with a full '-gate' like the garden gate. The noun and adjective (a combined whole; aggregate score) soften it to AG-ri-gət, /ˈæɡrɪɡət/. The stress stays on the first syllable in both. Saying the noun with the verb's hard '-gate' is a common slip.
What does 'in aggregate' mean?
It means taken all together, as one combined whole rather than piece by piece — 'the measures cost little individually, but in aggregate they add up'. It is the phrase writers use to switch from the parts to the sum. The scene above is the picture: four sources each report their own number, and the panel folds them into the one figure that stands for them all.
What is the difference between aggregate and total?
A total is just the final summed number; aggregate stresses that many diverse parts have been gathered into one whole, and it often works as a noun or adjective ('the aggregate figure', 'on aggregate'). You total a bill by adding the lines; you aggregate data by pooling different sources into one measure. Every aggregate has a total, but 'aggregate' foregrounds the combining of variety, not just the arithmetic.
What does 'aggregate demand' mean in economics?
Aggregate demand is the total demand for all goods and services in an economy at a given price level — conventionally the sum of consumer spending, investment, government spending, and net exports (C + I + G + Nx). The word is doing its core job: many separate kinds of spending pooled into one economy-wide figure. It pairs with aggregate supply, and the two are staples of macroeconomics passages.
How is an aggregate score calculated in football?
In a two-legged tie, the aggregate score adds the goals from both matches. If a team wins the first leg 2–1 and loses the second 2–1, the aggregate is 3–3, and the tie is settled by a tiebreaker — extra time or penalties, and in some competitions the away-goals rule. 'Winning on aggregate' simply means having the higher combined total across the two games.
Does aggregate also mean gravel or crushed stone?
Yes — in construction, aggregate is the sand, gravel, or crushed stone mixed with cement and water to make concrete, or laid as a road base. It is the same idea in a different field: many small, loose pieces combined into one solid mass. This is a noun sense (uncountable), stressed like the other noun, AG-ri-gət, and common in engineering and building texts.
Can aggregate be used as an adjective?
Yes, before a noun: aggregate score, aggregate value, aggregate amount, aggregate output. As an adjective it means combined or total, so 'the aggregate cost' is the whole cost of all the parts together — a slightly more formal, data-minded way of saying 'the total cost', and a natural fit for reports and economics writing. It is one of the word's commonest forms.