merger
Americannoun
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a statutory combination of two or more corporations by the transfer of the properties to one surviving corporation.
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any combination of two or more business enterprises into a single enterprise.
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an act or instance of merging.
Astronomers say that the merger of galaxies can take a billion years.
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Phonetics. the process or phenomenon whereby two distinct speech sounds come to be pronounced identically: for instance, the cot–caught vowel merger has taken place in some dialects of English.
noun
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Often called (Brit): amalgamation. commerce the combination of two or more companies, either by the creation of a new organization or by absorption by one of the others
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law the extinguishment of an estate, interest, contract, right, offence, etc, by its absorption into a greater one
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the act of merging or the state of being merged
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Especially common in the 1980s, hostile takeovers have become highly controversial. Some contend that they bring needed infusions of capital and efficiency to the targeted company. Others argue that, having borrowed heavily to finance the merger, the buyer is forced to sell valuable assets of the targeted company to pay off its debt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of merger
Explanation
When two companies become one company, they've had a merger. A merger is like a marriage for things other than people. It might help you remember merger to think of something that happens on the highway: several lanes sometimes have to merge into one lane. Merging leads to more than one thing becoming one. Words that mean something similar to merger are unification and fusion. Separation and break-up are opposites of a merger.
Vocabulary lists containing merger
Economics
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The merger of SpaceX and xAi will finance Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence ambitions, including a futuristic plan to blast a million satellite data centers into orbit.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
The IPO’s purpose, Luria believes, is to set up SpaceX for a merger with Tesla.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Tim Höttges, chief executive of Deutsche Telekom, is reportedly pursuing a merger of Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile US.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
The broadcast news industry has been experiencing upheaval and consolidation — most recently with layoffs and firings at “60 Minutes,” and the pending merger of news giants Tegna and Nexstar.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
The other mode of formation of complex societies, besides merger under threat of external force, is merger by conquest.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
