A word that means to combine

комбинат, комбайн, объединение, синдикат, сочетать, сочетаться, совмещать

существительное ↓

глагол ↓

Словосочетания

to combine forces / efforts — объединить силы, усилия  
combine accelerations — складывать ускорения  
to combine equations — решать уравнения совместно  
to combine theory and practice — объединять теорию и практику  
to combine into a trust — эк. трестировать  
to combine forces — объединить силы  
combine and merge — объединяться и сливаться  
combine efforts — объединять усилия  
to combine the flour with the margarine — смешать муку с маргарином  
combine in — входить в моду  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

combined  — комбинированный, объединенный, присоединенный
combinate  — набрать шифр замка с секретом, набирать шифр замка с секретом,

Формы слова

verb
I/you/we/they: combine
he/she/it: combines
ing ф. (present participle): combining
2-я ф. (past tense): combined
3-я ф. (past participle): combined

noun
ед. ч.(singular): combine
мн. ч.(plural): combines

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Семинар 6 Combinability. Word Groups

KEY TERMS

Syntagmatics — linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech as distinct from associative (non-simultaneous) relationship of words in language (paradigmatics). Syntagmatic relations specify the combination of elements into complex forms and sentences.

Distribution — The set of elements with which an item can cooccur

Combinability — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.

Valency — the potential ability of words to occur with other words

Context — the semantically complete passage of written speech sufficient to establish the meaning of a given word (phrase).

Clichе´ — an overused expression that is considered trite, boring

Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.

Collocation — such a combination of words which conditions the realization of a certain meaning
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND EXERCISES
1. Syntagmatic relations and the concept of combinability of words. Define combinability.
Syntagmatic relation defines the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It focuses on two main parts: how the position and the word order affect the meaning of a sentence.

The syntagmatic relation explains:

• The word position and order.

• The relationship between words gives a particular meaning to the sentence.

The syntagmatic relation can also explain why specific words are often paired together (collocations)

Syntagmatic relations are linear relations between words

The adjective yellow:

1. color: a yellow dress;

2. envious, suspicious: a yellow look;

3. corrupt: the yellow press
TYPES OF SEMANTIC RELATIONS

Because syntagmatic relations have to do with the relationship between words, the syntagms can result in collocations and idioms.
Collocations
Collocations are word combinations that frequently occur together.

Some examples of collocations:

• Verb + noun: do homework, take a risk, catch a cold.
• Noun + noun: office hours, interest group, kitchen cabinet.
• Adjective + adverb: good enough, close together, crystal clear.
• Verb + preposition: protect from, angry at, advantage of.
• Adverb + verb: strongly suggest, deeply sorry, highly successful.
• Adjective + noun: handsome man, quick shower, fast food.

Idioms

Idioms are expressions that have a meaning other than their literal one.

Idioms are distinct from collocations:

• The word combination is not interchangeable (fixed expressions).
• The meaning of each component is not equal to the meaning of the idiom

It is difficult to find the meaning of an idiom based on the definition of the words alone. For example, red herring. If you define the idiom word by word, it means ‘red fish’, not ‘something that misleads’, which is the real meaning.

Because of this, idioms can’t be translated to or from another language because the word definition isn’t equivalent to the idiom interpretation.
Some examples of popular idioms:

• Break a leg.
• Miss the boat.
• Call it a day.
• It’s raining cats and dogs.
• Kill two birds with one stone.

Combinability (occurrence-range) — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.

The combinability of words is as a rule determined by their meanings, not their forms. Therefore not every sequence of words may be regarded as a combination of words.
In the sentence Frankly, father, I have been a fool neither frankly, father nor father, I … are combinations of words since their meanings are detached and do not unite them, which is marked orally by intonation and often graphically by punctuation marks.
On the other hand, some words may be inserted between the components of a word-combination without breaking it.

Compare,

a) read books

b) read many books

c) read very many books.

In case (a) the combination read books is uninterrupted.In cases (b) and (c) it is interrupted, or discontinuous(read… books).

The combinability of words depends on their lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical meanings. It is owing to the lexical meanings of the corresponding lexemes that the word wise can be combined with the words man, act, saying and is hardly combinable with the words milk, area, outline.

The lexico-grammatical meanings of -er in singer (a noun) and -ly in beautifully (an adverb) do not go together and prevent these words from forming a combination, whereas beautiful singer and sing beautifully are regular word-combinations.

The combination * students sings is impossible owing to the grammatical meanings of the corresponding grammemes.

Thus one may speak of lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical combinability, or the combinability of lexemes, grammemes and parts of speech.
The mechanism of combinability is very complicated. One has to take into consideration not only the combinability of homogeneous units, e. g. the words of one lexeme with those of another lexeme. A lexeme is often not combinable with a whole class of lexemes or with certain grammemes.
For instance, the lexeme few, fewer, fewest is not combinable with a class of nouns called uncountables, such as milk, information, hatred, etc., or with members of ‘singular’ grammemes (i. e. grammemes containing the meaning of ‘singularity’, such as book, table, man, boy, etc.).
The ‘possessive case’ grammemes are rarely combined with verbs, barring the gerund. Some words are regularly combined with sentences, others are not.

It is convenient to distinguish right-hand and left-hand connections. In the combination my hand (when written down) the word my has a right-hand connection with the word hand and the latter has a left-hand connection with the word my.

With analytical forms inside and outside connections are also possible. In the combination has often written the verb has an inside connection with the adverb and the latter has an outside connection with the verb.

It will also be expedient to distinguish unilateral, bilateral and multilateral connections. By way of illustration we may say that the articles in English have unilateral right-hand connections with nouns: a book, the child. Such linking words as prepositions, conjunctions, link-verbs, and modal verbs are characterized by bilateral connections: love of life, John and Mary, this is John, he must come. Most verbs may have zero

(Come!), unilateral (birds fly), bilateral (I saw him) and multilateral (Yesterday I saw him there) connections. In other words, the combinability of verbs is variable.

One should also distinguish direct and indirect connections. In the combination Look at John the connection between look and at, between at and John are direct, whereas the connection between look and John is indirect, through the preposition at.
2. Lexical and grammatical valency. Valency and collocability. Relationships between valency and collocability. Distribution.
The appearance of words in a certain syntagmatic succession with particular logical, semantic, morphological and syntactic relations is called collocability or valency.

Valency is viewed as an aptness or potential of a word to have relations with other words in language. Valency can be grammatical and lexical.

Collocability is an actual use of words in particular word-groups in communication.
The range of the Lexical valency of words is linguistically restricted by the inner structure of the English word-stock. Though the verbs ‘lift’ and ‘raise’ are synonyms, only ‘to raise’ is collocated with the noun ‘question’.

The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is different, cf. English ‘pot plants’ vs. Russian ‘комнатные цветы’.
The interrelation of lexical valency and polysemy:

• the restrictions of lexical valency of words may manifest themselves in the lexical meanings of the polysemantic members of word-groups, e.g. heavy, adj. in the meaning ‘rich and difficult to digest’ is combined with the words food, meals, supper, etc., but one cannot say *heavy cheese or *heavy sausage;

• different meanings of a word may be described through its lexical valency, e.g. the different meanings of heavy, adj. may be described through the word-groups heavy weight / book / table; heavy snow / storm / rain; heavy drinker / eater; heavy sleep / disappointment / sorrow; heavy industry / tanks, and so on.

From this point of view word-groups may be regarded as the characteristic minimal lexical sets that operate as distinguishing clues for each of the multiple meanings of the word.
Grammatical valency is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (or rather syntactic) structures. Its range is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to. This is not to imply that grammatical valency of words belonging to the same part of speech is necessarily identical, e.g.:

• the verbs suggest and propose can be followed by a noun (to propose or suggest a plan / a resolution); however, it is only propose that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb (to propose to do smth.);

• the adjectives clever and intelligent are seen to possess different grammatical valency as clever can be used in word-groups having the pattern: Adj. + Prep. at +Noun(clever at mathematics), whereas intelligent can never be found in exactly the same word-group pattern.

• The individual meanings of a polysemantic word may be described through its grammatical valency, e.g. keen + Nas in keen sight ‘sharp’; keen + on + Nas in keen on sports ‘fond of’; keen + V(inf)as in keen to know ‘eager’.
Lexical context determines lexically bound meaning; collocations with the polysemantic words are of primary importance, e.g. a dramatic change / increase / fall / improvement; dramatic events / scenery; dramatic society; a dramatic gesture.
In grammatical context the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context serves to determine the meanings of a polysemantic word, e.g. 1) She will make a good teacher. 2) She will make some tea. 3) She will make him obey.
Distribution is understood as the whole complex of contexts in which the given lexical unit(word) can be used. Есть даже словари, по которым можно найти валентные слова для нужного нам слова — так и называются дистрибьюшн дикшенери
3. What is a word combination? Types of word combinations. Classifications of word-groups.
Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.

Types of word combinations:

1. Semantically:
   1. free word groups (collocations) — a year ago, a girl of beauty, take lessons;
   2. set expressions (at last, point of view, take part).
2. Morphologically (L.S. Barkhudarov):
   1. noun word combinations, e.g.: nice apples (BBC London Course);
   2. verb word combinations, e.g.: saw him (E. Blyton);
   3. adjective word combinations, e.g.: perfectly delightful (O. Wilde);
   4. adverb word combinations, e.g.: perfectly well (O, Wilde);
   5. pronoun word combinations, e.g.: something nice (BBC London Course).
3. According to the number of the components:
   1. simple — the head and an adjunct, e.g.: told me (A. Ayckbourn)
   2. Complex, e.g.: terribly cold weather (O. Jespersen), where the adjunct cold is expanded by means of terribly.

Classifications of word-groups:

1. through the order and arrangement of the components:

• a verbal — nominal group (to sew a dress);

• a verbal — prepositional — nominal group (look at something);

1. by the criterion of distribution, which is the sum of contexts of the language unit usage:

• endocentric, i.e. having one central member functionally equivalent to the whole word-group (blue sky);

• exocentric, i.e. having no central member (become older, side by side);

1. according to the headword:

• nominal (beautiful garden);

• verbal (to fly high);

• adjectival (lucky from birth);

1. according to the syntactic pattern:

• predicative (Russian linguists do not consider them to be word-groups);

• non-predicative — according to the type of syntactic relations between the components:

(a) subordinative (modern technology);

(b) coordinative (husband and wife).

4. What is “a free word combination”? To what extent is what we call a free word combination actually free? What are the restrictions imposed on it?
A free word combination is a combination in which any element can be substituted by another.

The general meaning of an ordinary free word combination is derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements

Ex. To come to one’s sense –to change one’s mind;

To fall into a rage – to get angry.

Free word-combinations are word-groups that have a greater semantic and structural independence and freely composed by the speaker in his speech according to his purpose.

A free word combination or a free phrase permits substitution of any of its elements without any semantic change in the other components.
5. Clichе´s (traditional word combinations).
A cliché is an expression that is trite, worn-out, and overused. As a result, clichés have lost their original vitality, freshness, and significance in expressing meaning. A cliché is a phrase or idea that has become a “universal” device to describe abstract concepts such as time (Better Late Than Never), anger (madder than a wet hen), love (love is blind), and even hope (Tomorrow is Another Day). However, such expressions are too commonplace and unoriginal to leave any significant impression.

Of course, any expression that has become a cliché was original and innovative at one time. However, overuse of such an expression results in a loss of novelty, significance, and even original meaning. For example, the proverbial phrase “when it rains it pours” indicates the idea that difficult or inconvenient circumstances closely follow each other or take place all at the same time. This phrase originally referred to a weather pattern in which a dry spell would be followed by heavy, prolonged rain. However, the original meaning is distanced from the overuse of the phrase, making it a cliché.

Some common examples of cliché in everyday speech:

• My dog is dumb as a doorknob. (тупой как пробка)
• The laundry came out as fresh as a daisy.
• If you hide the toy it will be out of sight, out of mind. (с глаз долой, из сердца вон)

Examples of Movie Lines that Have Become Cliché:

• Luke, I am your father. (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
• i am Groot. (Guardians of the Galaxy)
• I’ll be back. (The Terminator)
• Houston, we have a problem. (Apollo 13)

Some famous examples of cliché in creative writing:

• It was a dark and stormy night
• Once upon a time
• There I was
• All’s well that ends well
• They lived happily ever after

6. The sociolinguistic aspect of word combinations.
Lexical valency is the possibility of lexicosemantic connections of a word with other word

Some researchers suggested that the functioning of a word in speech is determined by the environment in which it occurs, by its grammatical peculiarities (part of speech it belongs to, categories, functions in the sentence, etc.), and by the type and character of meaning included into the semantic structure of a word.

Words are used in certain lexical contexts, i.e. in combinations with other words. The words that surround a particular word in a sentence or paragraph are called the verbal context of that word.
7. Norms of lexical valency and collocability in different languages.
The aptness of a word to appear in various combinations is described as its lexical valency or collocability. The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is not identical. This is only natural since every language has its syntagmatic norms and patterns of lexical valency. Words, habitually collocated, tend to constitute a cliché, e.g. bad mistake, high hopes, heavy sea (rain, snow), etc. The translator is obliged to seek similar cliches, traditional collocations in the target-language: грубая ошибка, большие надежды, бурное море, сильный дождь /снег/.

The key word in such collocations is usually preserved but the collocated one is rendered by a word of a somewhat different referential meaning in accordance with the valency norms of the target-language:

• trains run — поезда ходят;
• a fly stands on the ceiling — на потолке сидит муха;
• It was the worst earthquake on the African continent (D.W.) — Это было самое сильное землетрясение в Африке.
• Labour Party pretest followed sharply on the Tory deal with Spain (M.S.1973) — За сообщением о сделке консервативного правительства с Испанией немедленно последовал протест лейбористской партии.

Different collocability often calls for lexical and grammatical transformations in translation though each component of the collocation may have its equivalent in Russian, e.g. the collocation «the most controversial Prime Minister» cannot be translated as «самый противоречивый премьер-министр».

«Britain will tomorrow be welcoming on an official visit one of the most controversial and youngest Prime Ministers in Europe» (The Times, 1970). «Завтра в Англию прибывает с официальным визитом один из самых молодых премьер-министров Европы, который вызывает самые противоречивые мнения».

«Sweden’s neutral faith ought not to be in doubt» (Ib.) «Верность Швеции нейтралитету не подлежит сомнению».

The collocation «documentary bombshell» is rather uncommon and individual, but evidently it does not violate English collocational patterns, while the corresponding Russian collocation — документальная бомба — impossible. Therefore its translation requires a number of transformations:

«A teacher who leaves a documentary bombshell lying around by negligence is as culpable as the top civil servant who leaves his classified secrets in a taxi» (The Daily Mirror, 1950) «Преподаватель, по небрежности оставивший на столе бумаги, которые могут вызвать большой скандал, не менее виновен, чем ответственный государственный служащий, забывший секретные документы в такси».
8. Using the data of various dictionaries compare the grammatical valency of the words worth and worthy; ensure, insure, assure; observance and observation; go and walk; influence and влияние; hold and держать.

Worth & Worthy
Worth is used to say that something has a value: • Something that is worth a certain amount of money has that value; • Something that is worth doing or worth an effort, a visit, etc. is so attractive or rewarding that the effort etc. should be made. Valency: Worth + N: worth a lot of money; Worth + Ving: worth making; [it] + V-ing: it would be worth asking him [it] + Ν V-ing: it’s not really worth me voting Worth + N + to N: worth money to me [it] + Ν + for Ν to-INF (rare): it would be worth for you to know	Worthy: • If someone or something is worthv of something, they deserve it because they have the qualities required; • If you say that a person is worthy of another person you are saying that you approve of them as a partner for that person. Valency: Attributive: worthy candidate, worthy cause; Predicative: equally worthy + to-INF: worthy to be + of N/V-ing: worthy of closer examination.

Ensure, insure, assure
Ensure means ‘make certain that something happens’. Valency: + Np: ensure fairness + (that)-CLp.it: Ensure that there is adequate humidity in heated rooms + Np + Ν: does not ensure women a place at center stage + Np + for Ν: to ensure good fishing for everyone.	Insure — make sure Valency: + Np: insure continuation; + (that)-CLp.it: insure that future generations; + Np + Νp: They will not insure us victory; + Np + for Ν: insure items for replacement.	Assure: • to tell someone confidently that something is true, especially so that they do not worry; • to cause something to be certain. Valency: +N: assure the owner; + (that)-CL: assure him (that) the car will be ready; + by N: has been assured by the reviews

Observance & Observation
Observance: • the act of obeying a law or following a religious custom: religious observances such as fasting • a ceremony or action to celebrate a holiday or a religious or other important event: [ C ] Memorial Day observances [ U ] Financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.	Observation: • the act of observing something or someone; • the fact that you notice or see something; • a remark about something that you have noticed. Valency: + of: observation of human behaviour; Under +: keeping under observation; For +: to be admitted for observation; + on/about: interesting observations on the nature; to make +: may I make an observation.

Go & Walk
	Walk can mean ‘move along on foot’: • A person can walk an animal, i.e. exercise them by walking. • A person can walk another person somewhere , i.e. take them there, • A person can walk a particular distance or walk the streets. Valency: + Np: walk the dog; +ADJ: made us walk tall again; + into Np: to walk into a controversy; +over Np: to walk over me; ADVP-prep: to walk away/through/away N + ADV: We had to walk three kilometers to the river. Np + ADV: Can I walk you home? ADJ + ADV: it was like walking barefoot in the sand

Influence & Влияние
Influence: • A person can have influence (a) over another person or a group, i.e. be able to directly guide the way they behave, (b) with a person, i.e. be able to influence them because they know them well. • Someone or something can have or be an influence on or upon something or someone, i.e. be able to affect their character or behaviour in some way Valency: the UN is having difficulty exerting its influence; [the] + to-INF: the influence to lead the world + on N/wh-CL: influence on the work of the late 19th-century French avant-garde. + over Ν: Union influence over Labour + upon Ν: Its influence upon female physiology + with Ν: to use their influence with the PLO leadership	Влияние — Действие, оказываемое кем-, чем-либо на кого-, что-либо. Сочетаемость: Прил +: значительное влияние + сущ: влияние среды Сущ +: сферы влияния; Гл +: оказывать влияние.

Hold & Держать
Hold: • to take and keep something in your hand or arms; • to support something; • to contain or be able to contain something; • to keep someone in a place so that they cannot leave. Valency: ADJ +: tight hold; V +: take/keep hold; + on: his hold on her; + OBJ + ADJ: hold the door open; + OBJ + N: hold him hostage	Держать — взять в руки/рот/зубы и т.д. и не давать выпасть Сочетаемость: Сущ +: ноги держат + сущ: держать себя в руках, держать дистанцию.

1. Contrastive Analysis. Give words of the same root in Russian; compare their valency:

Chance	Шанс
+ to-INF: a chance to win; + (that)-CL: a chance that BA might co-operate; + for N/V-ing: chance for peace/regaining; + of N/V-ing /of Ν V-ing: no chance of her accepting; + for Ν + to-INF: a chance for me to show	Прил +: большой шанс; + сущ: шанс спасения; Сущ +: множество шансов; + гл: шанс даётся Гл +: дать шанс, оценить свой шанс
Situation	Ситуация
As a noun: bland situation, sort of situation; + that-CL: the situation that I was pregnant; + wh-CL: the situation when you open the door; + of N/V-ing: a situation of anarchy; + with Ν: situation with your husband.	Прил +: чрезвычайная ситуация; + сущ: ситуация общения; Сущ +: изменение ситуации; Гл +: оценить ситуацию; + гл: ситуация повторилась.
Partner	Партнёр
с глаголом be, become, create: to become a partner существительным live, business: business partner	Прил +: деловой партнёр; + сущ: партнёр фирмы; Сущ +: смена партнёра; Гл +: найти партнёра; + гл: партнёр решает.
Surprise	Сюрприз
to experience surprise (сочетаемость существительных:) to show surprise (сочетаемость существительных:) to cause no surprise (сочетаемость существительных:) to surprise smb (Глагольные словосочетания) to take smb by surprise (Глагольные словосочетания)	Прил +: небольшой сюрприз; Сущ +: масса сюрпризов; Гл +: сделать сюрприз; + гл: сюрприз удался.
Risk	Риск
As a noun: good risk; + that-CL: the risk that goods go; + for Ν/[at] + for N/V-ing: the risk for the investor; + from N/V-ing: risk from pets; + in N/V-ing: risk in flying south; + of N/V-ing / of Ν V-ing: the risk of crushing; + to Ν: a risk to our health; +for N + to-INF: a risk for Jim to bury Mary there.	Прил +: большой риск; + сущ: риск заражения; Сущ +: группа риска; Гл +: учитывать риск; + гл: риск возрастает.
Instruction	Инструкция
on the instruction of smb (сочетаемость существительных:) сочетаемость глаголов to make, to create.	Прил +: подробная инструкция; + сущ: инструкция пользователя; Сущ +: получение инструкции; Гл +: следовать инструкции; + гл: инструкция требовала.
Satisfaction	Сатисфакция
with satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:) to cause satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:) unique satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:) total satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:) personal satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)	Прил +: полная сатисфакция; Гл +: получить сатисфакцию;
Business	Бизнес
[it/no] + to-INF: He’ll make it his business to find out; [it/no] + V-ing: no business poking their noses; + of N/V-ing: the business of intervention; + with Ν: business with the players	Прил +: семейный бизнес; + сущ: бизнес отца; Сущ +: развитие бизнеса; Гл +: вести бизнес; + гл: бизнес растёт.
Manager	Менеджер
to see the manager (Глагольные словосочетания) He was promoted to manager. (Глагольные словосочетания) to apply to the manager (Глагольные словосочетания) to approach the manager about this matter (Глагольные словосочетания) The guests asked for the manager. (Глагольные словосочетания)	Прил +: старший менеджер; + сущ: менеджер группы; Сущ +: должность менеджера; Гл +: стать менеджером; + гл: менеджер сообщил.
Challenge	Челлендж
challenge to smb (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами: господство/ подчинение/давление) challenge to smb (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами:угрозы/насмешка/донос) challenge to a fight (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами:список глаголов, требующих за собой предлог) to accept smb’s challenge (Глагольные словосочетания) to challenge a report (сочетаемость существительных:)	Прил +: новый челлендж; Гл +: продолжить челлендж; Сущ +: день челленджа.

10. From the lexemes in brackets choose the correct one to go with each of the synonyms given below:

1. Write a short definition based on the clues you find in context for the italicized words in the sentence. Check your definitions with the dictionary.

Sentence	Meaning
The method of reasoning from the particular to the general — the inductive method — has played an important role in science since the time of Francis Bacon.	The way of learning or investigating from the particular to the general that played an important role in the time of Francis Bacon
Most snakes are meat eaters, or carnivores.	Animals whose main diet is meat
A person on a reducing diet is expected to eschew most fatty or greasy foods.	deliberately avoid
After a hectic year in the city, he was glad to return to the peace and quiet of the country.	full of incessant or frantic activity.
Darius was speaking so quickly and waving his arms around so wildly, it was impossible to comprehend what he was trying to say.	grasp mentally; understand.to perceive
The babysitter tried rocking, feeding, chanting, and burping the crying baby, but nothing would appease him.	to calm down someone
It behooves young ladies and gentlemen not to use bad language unless they are very, very angry.	necessary
The Academy Award is an honor coveted by most Hollywood actors.	The dream about some achievements
In the George Orwell book 1984, the people’s lives are ruled by an omnipotent dictator named “Big Brother.”	The person who have a lot of power
After a good deal of coaxing, the father finally acceded to his children’s request.	to Agree with some request
He is devoid of human feelings.	Someone have the lack of something
This year, my garden yielded several baskets full of tomatoes.	produce or provide
It is important for a teacher to develop a rapport with his or her students.	good relationship

Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:4.2 / 6 votes

1. combinationnoun

   a collection of things that have been combined; an assemblage of separate parts or qualities

2. combinationnoun

   a coordinated sequence of chess moves

3. combinationnoun

   a sequence of numbers or letters that opens a combination lock

   «he forgot the combination to the safe»

4. combinationnoun

   a group of people (often temporary) having a common purpose

   «they were a winning combination»

5. combinationnoun

   an alliance of people or corporations or countries for a special purpose (formerly to achieve some antisocial end but now for general political or economic purposes)

6. combinationnoun

   the act of arranging elements into specified groups without regard to order

7. combination, combining, compoundingnoun

   the act of combining things to form a new whole

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. combinationnoun

   The act of combining, the state of being combined or the result of combining.

2. combinationnoun

   A sequence of numbers or letters used to open a combination lock.

3. combinationnoun

   One or more elements selected from a set without regard to the order of selection.

4. combinationnoun

   An association or alliance of people for some common purpose.

5. combinationnoun

   A combination shot; a billiard; a shot where the cue ball hits a ball that strikes another ball on the table.

Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Combinationnoun

   Etymology: from combine.

   1. Union for some certain purpose; association; league. A combination is of private persons, a confederacy of states or sovereigns.

   This cunning cardinal
   The articles o’ th’ combination drew,
   As himself pleas’d.
   William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.

   2. It is now generally used in an ill sense; but was formerly indifferent.

   They aim to subdue all to their own will and power, under the disguises of holy combinations.
   Charles I .

   3. Union of bodies, or qualities; commixture; conjunction.

   These natures, from the moment of their first combination, have been and are for ever inseparable.
   Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 52.

   Resolution of compound bodies by fire, does not so much enrich mankind as it divides the bodies; as upon the score of its making new compounds by new combinations.
   Boyle.

   Ingratitude is always in combination with pride and hard-heartedness.
   Robert South, Sermons.

   4. Copulation of ideas in the mind.

   They never suffer any ideas to be joined in their understandings, in any other or stronger combination than what their own nature and correspondence give them.
   John Locke.

   5.Combination is used in mathematicks, to denote the variation or alteration of any number of quantities, letters, sounds, or the like, in all the different manners possible. thus the number of possible changes or combinations of the twenty-four letters of the alphabet, taken first two by two, then three by three, &c. amount to 1,391,724,288,887,252,999,425,128,493,402,200. Ephraim Chambers

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Combinationnoun

   the act or process of combining or uniting persons and things

2. Combinationnoun

   the result of combining or uniting; union of persons or things; esp. a union or alliance of persons or states to effect some purpose; — usually in a bad sense

3. Combinationnoun

   the act or process of uniting by chemical affinity, by which substances unite with each other in definite proportions by weight to form distinct compounds

4. Combinationnoun

   the different arrangements of a number of objects, as letters, into groups

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Combination

   In mathematics a combination is a way of selecting several things out of a larger group, where order does not matter. In smaller cases it is possible to count the number of combinations. For example given three fruit, say an apple, orange and pear, there are three combinations of two that can be drawn from this set: an apple and a pear; an apple and an orange; or a pear and an orange. More formally a k-combination of a set S is a subset of k distinct elements of S. If the set has n elements the number of k-combinations is equal to the binomial coefficient
   which can be written using factorials as whenever, and which is zero when . The set of all k-combinations of a set S is sometimes denoted by .
   Combinations can refer to the combination of n things taken k at a time without or with repetitions. In the above example repetitions were not allowed. If however it was possible to have two of any one kind of fruit there would be 3 more combinations: one with two apples, one with two oranges, and one with two pears.
   With large sets, it becomes necessary to use more sophisticated mathematics to find the number of combinations. For example, a poker hand can be described as a 5-combination of cards from a 52 card deck. The 5 cards of the hand are all distinct, and the order of cards in the hand does not matter. There are 2,598,960 such combinations, and the chance of drawing any one hand at random is 1 / 2,598,960.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. combination

   To combine into a whole.

   There are a perfect combination of personalities and it is such joyful news to know they are getting married.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 17, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Alliance
   • Change Of Integrity
   • Collection
   • Mathematical Process
   • Politics
   • Sequence
   • Unit

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘combination’ in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2275

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘combination’ in Written Corpus Frequency: #4319

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘combination’ in Nouns Frequency: #861

How to pronounce combination?

How to say combination in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of combination in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of combination in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of combination in a Sentence

1. Harold Brooks:

   A man stands atop a smashed car in a tornado-ravaged neighborhood south of Oklahoma City. The F5 tornado killed some 44 people in May 1999. ( Reuters) Most tornadoes form from supercells, also known as a rotating thunderstorm or a mesocyclone. A supercell is typically a thunderstorm with the winds already in motion, according to National Geographic. It requires a combination of warm, moist air and cold, dry air which are the ingredients for a regular thunderstorm.

2. Pedram Javaheri:

   The combination of dry fuels and tropical storm force winds could lead to downed trees and power lines, thus any ignition of new fires would flourish and rapidly expand under these conditions.

3. Goldman Sachs:

   The primary reason for the changes to our forecasts is cost deflation — driven by a combination of actual and anticipated U.S. dollar strength, cheaper energy and other input costs, and our expectation of an improvement in mining productivity.

4. Kristy Del Coro:

   These amounts don’t even have to be exact — it is really about the combination of ingredients and flavors and Drew Hiatts can adjust to Drew Hiatts taste.

5. Simon MacAdam:

   While the latest data show that the recovery in the US is being supercharged by a combination of fiscal stimulus and relaxation of restrictions, for much of the rest of the world, vaccine setbacks and worsening virus outbreaks will delay economic recoveries, the surge in virus cases in India has grabbed attention in recent weeks, but infections are on the rise in most parts of the world, especially in emerging economies.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for combination

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

• مزيجArabic
• съединение, комбинация, обединениеBulgarian
• combinacióCatalan, Valencian
• kombinaceCzech
• Kombination, VereinigungGerman
• τρίκυκλοGreek
• combinaciónSpanish
• sobitama, järjestus, kombinatsioon, kooslus, kombineerimaEstonian
• ترکیبPersian
• ratsastus, kombinaatio, yhdistäminen, yhdistely, yhdistelmä, yhdistysFinnish
• combinaisonFrench
• combinaciónGalician
• संयोगHindi
• combinazioneItalian
• 統合, 結合, 合併Japanese
• combinatioLatin
• kombinasjonNorwegian
• vereniging, verbinding, combinatieDutch
• kombinasjonNorwegian Nynorsk
• combinaçãoPortuguese
• combinație, combinareRomanian
• сочетание, объединение, соединение, комбинацияRussian
• kombinering, kombinationSwedish
• birlik, dernek, birleşim, cemiyet, kombinasyon, birleştirmeTurkish

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.