combine
/kəmˈbaɪn/verb, noun
combine is spelled C-O-M-B-I-N-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, combine means “To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in combine?
| Letters | 7: C-O-M-B-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,778th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is combine?
Combine appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,778th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce combine?
- /kəmˈbaɪn/
As a noun (“Ellipsis of combine harvester”): /ˈkɑm.baɪn/, /ˈkɒm.baɪn/.
Combine has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-combine_(verb).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-combine_(noun).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of combine
- combines present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- combining participle, present
- combined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does combine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To bring (two or more things or activities) together; to unite.
Combine the milk and the hot water in a large bowl.
- 2
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
To come together; to unite.
two substances that easily combine
- 4
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
obsoleteTo bind; to hold by a moral tie.
noun
- 1
Ellipsis of combine harvester.
We can't finish harvesting because our combine is stuck in the mud.
- 2
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.
- 3
An industrial conglomeration in a socialist country, particularly in the former Soviet bloc.
His grandmother worked in the stamping plant of the sheet and tin combine.
- 4
An artwork falling between painting and sculpture, having objects embedded into a painted surface.
- 5
Ellipsis of combine car, a type of railway car that combines passenger and freight functions.
- 6
A test match in which applicants play in the hope of earning a position on a professional football team.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Combine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | combiner |
| German | kombinieren, verbinden , vereinen |
| Portuguese | combinar |
| Spanish | combinar, juntar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does combine come from?
From Middle English combynyn, from Middle French combiner, from Late Latin combīnāre (“unite, yoke together”), from Latin con- (“together”) + bīnī (“two by two”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).