combine

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combīnāre, present active infinitive of combīnō (“unite, yoke together”), from Latin con- (“together”) + bīnī (“two by two”).

verb

1. (transitive) To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
   Combine the milk and the hot water in a large bowl.
   I'm combining business and pleasure on this trip.
   Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat. 2012-03, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87
2. (transitive) To have two or more things or properties that function together.
   Joe combines the intelligence of a rock with the honesty of a politician.
3. (intransitive) To come together; to unite.
   two substances that easily combine
4. (card games) In the game of casino, to play a card which will take two or more cards whose aggregate number of pips equals those of the card played.
5. (obsolete) To bind; to hold by a moral tie.

noun

1. A combine harvester
   We can't finish harvesting because our combine is stuck in the mud.
   When those combine wheels stops turnin' And the hard days work is done Theres a pub around the corner It's the place we 'ave our fun 1976, The Wurzels, I Am A Cider Drinker
2. A combination
   1. Especially, a joint enterprise of whatever legal form for a purpose of business or in any way promoting the interests of the participants, sometimes with monopolistic or fraudulent intentions.
      The telecom companies were accused of having formed an illegal combine in order to hike up the network charges.
   2. An industrial conglomeration in a socialist country, particularly in the former Soviet bloc.
   3. (art) An artwork falling between painting and sculpture, having objects embedded into a painted surface.
3. (American football) A Test match in which applicants play in the hope of earning a position on a professional football team.
   If you purchased this book chances are that you are planning on participating in a football combine or pro-day test. 2008, Scott Shetler, Optimal Performance Techniques for the Football Combine, page 5
   In 2008, a study was published that examined the ability of the NFL combine to predict football playing performance in the NFL (Kuzmits and Adams, 2008). 2020, Jay R. Hoffman, The Science of American Football
   At the combine, Reagor compared himself to the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel or Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill — whom he said he watched “every day” April 24 2020, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Time