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combine

/kəmˈbaɪn//kəmˈbaɪn/·verb, noun
to bring separate things together into one, while each keeps its own identity
Fig. 1 — I watch berries tumble into a bowl from one side and oats from the other, and a spoon folds them once through each other.
01Definition

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.

02In use
  • iCombine the flour with the eggs before you add any water.
  • iiThe two charities combined their resources to reach more towns.
  • iiiA strong essay combines solid evidence with a clear argument.
03Collocations
  • combine with
  • combine forces
  • a combined effort
  • combine into one
  • combine harvester

Family combination (noun) · combined (adjective) · combine (noun)

04Relations

=merge, unite, blend, amalgamate, consolidate

≠separate, divide, split

05Compared
PairThe difference
combine vs amalgamatemerge organizations into one combined organization → amalgamate; bring separate things together into one set → combine.
combine vs assemblefit parts together in order, or gather in one place for a purpose → assemble; simply bring separate things together into one set → combine.
combine vs blendmix things into one seamless whole where the parts vanish → blend; bring things together while each keeps its identity → combine.
combine vs clusterthings packing into a tight, dense group while staying separate → cluster; separate things joined together into one set → combine.
combine vs coalesceparts growing together into one whole on their own → coalesce; separate things deliberately brought together into a set → combine.

Also compared with come together, congregate, consolidate, disband, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, diverge, divide, fuse, gather, integrate, join, merge, scatter, separate, split, unite

06TOEFL & IELTS

Two facts save marks. First, stress: the verb is com-BINE (/kəmˈbaɪn/), but the noun — the harvesting machine — is COM-bine (/ˈkɑːmbaɪn/). Second, avoid 'combine together': combine already means 'bring together', so the 'together' is redundant and reads as a slip. The usual pattern is combine A with B; combine into stresses forming a single unit ('the notes were combined into one report').

07Asked
How do you pronounce 'combine' — is the noun different?
Yes, it is a stress pair. The verb is com-BINE (/kəmˈbaɪn/), stress on the second syllable, first syllable a weak 'kuhm'. The noun — the harvesting machine — is COM-bine (/ˈkɑːmbaɪn/), stress on the first. So 'we combine the data' but 'a combine harvester', with the beat in different places.
Is it 'combine with' or 'combine into'?
Combine A with B is the usual pattern — 'combine the eggs with the sugar', 'she combined skill with luck'. Combine into points at the single unit that results — 'the three teams were combined into one department'. Both are correct; with names the partner, into names the whole they become. You can also just combine A and B.
Is it wrong to say 'combine together'?
It is redundant. Combine already means 'bring together', so 'combine together' says the same thing twice — the kind of wordiness that costs marks for lexical precision. Write 'combine the ingredients', not 'combine together the ingredients'. The same applies to its relatives: 'merge together' and 'join together' are usually padded too.
What is the difference between combine and merge?
Combine brings things together for a purpose while the parts usually stay distinguishable — in the scene above the berries and oats combine into one bowl, yet you can still tell a berry from an oat. Merge goes further: the parts are absorbed into one body and lose their separate identity, the way two companies merge into a single firm.
What is a combine (combine harvester)?
A large farm machine that 'combines' three harvest jobs — reaping (cutting), threshing (separating grain), and gathering — into one pass across a field, which is where its name comes from. It is why the noun exists at all, and why it is stressed on the first syllable, COM-bine, unlike the everyday verb.
What is the difference between combine, join, and mix?
Combine is the neutral general word — bring things together for a purpose. Join means to attach or link two things, or to become a member of a group. Mix means to intermingle without full unification, and often the parts stay loose. Combine forces, join a club, mix the paint: each fits a different kind of togetherness.