Combined

How to spell combined

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce combined

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does combined mean?

1. verbJoined or merged two or more things together into a single whole.
2. adjectiveMade up of two or more things merged together; joint or total.

Combined in a sentence

• verb

  She combined the two spreadsheets into one master file.

• adjective

  Their combined income was enough to cover the mortgage.

• verb

  The chef combined the flour and butter before adding the eggs.

• adjective

  The combined weight of the boxes exceeded the lift limit.

Where does combined come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin combinare, meaning 'to join two by two' or 'to unite'. That verb was built from the prefix com-, meaning 'together', and bini, a Latin word meaning 'two at a time' or 'in pairs', which itself traces back to bis, meaning 'twice'. English took the base verb 'combine' through Late Latin and Old French in the fifteenth century, originally in the sense of pairing or yoking things together. The -ed ending is the ordinary English past-tense and participle marker, which also lets the word work as an adjective describing things merged into one. The same bini root for 'pairs' survives in 'binary' and 'binoculars', a useful reminder that the heart of the word is about bringing two or more things together.

How the word is built

• com- (together)
• bine (from Latin bini: two together)
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)