Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Consolidate?

\Con*sol"i*date\, a. [L. consolidatus, p. pr. of consolidare to make firm; con- + solidare to make firm; solidus solid. See {Solid}, and cf. {Consound}.] Formed into a solid mass; made firm; consolidated. [R.] A gentleman [should learn to ride] while he is tender and the brawns and sinews of his thighs not fully consolidate. --Elyot.
\Con*sol"i*date\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Consolidated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Consolidating}.] 1. To make solid; to unite or press together into a compact mass; to harden or make dense and firm. He fixed and consolidated the earth. --T. Burnet. 2. To unite, as various particulars, into one mass or body; to bring together in close union; to combine; as, to consolidate the armies of the republic. Consolidating numbers into unity. --Wordsworth. 3. (Surg.) To unite by means of applications, as the parts of a broken bone, or the lips of a wound. [R.] Syn: To unite; combine; harden; compact; condense; compress.
\Con*sol"i*date\, v. i. To grow firm and hard; to unite and become solid; as, moist clay consolidates by drying. In hurts and ulcers of the head, dryness maketh them more apt to consolidate. --Bacon.