CLUSTER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cluster mean? 

• CLUSTER (noun)
  The noun CLUSTER has 1 sense:

1. a grouping of a number of similar things

  Familiarity information: CLUSTER used as a noun is very rare.

• CLUSTER (verb)
  The verb CLUSTER has 2 senses:

1. come together as in a cluster or flock

2. gather or cause to gather into a cluster

  Familiarity information: CLUSTER used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CLUSTER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A grouping of a number of similar things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

bunch; clump; cluster; clustering

Context example:

a cluster of admirers

Hypernyms ("cluster" is a kind of...):

agglomeration (a jumbled collection or mass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cluster"):

knot (a tight cluster of people or things)

swad (a bunch)

tuft; tussock (a bunch of hair or feathers or growing grass)

Instance hyponyms:

Northern Cross (a cluster of 5 bright stars forming a cross in the constellation Cygnus)

Omega Centauri (a global cluster in the constellation Centaurus)

Pleiades (a star cluster in the constellation Taurus)

Derivation:

cluster (gather or cause to gather into a cluster)

cluster (come together as in a cluster or flock)

• CLUSTER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cluster    ... he / she / it clusters   
Past simple: clustered   
Past participle: clustered   
-ing form: clustering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Come together as in a cluster or flock

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

clump; cluster; constellate; flock

Context example:

The poets constellate in this town every summer

Hypernyms (to "cluster" is one way to...):

assemble; foregather; forgather; gather; meet (collect in one place)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cluster"):

huddle; huddle together (crowd or draw together)

bunch; bunch together; bunch up (form into a bunch)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The crowds cluster in the streets

Derivation:

cluster; clustering (a grouping of a number of similar things)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Gather or cause to gather into a cluster

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bunch; bundle; clump; cluster

Context example:

She bunched her fingers into a fist

Hypernyms (to "cluster" is one way to...):

form (assume a form or shape)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cluster"):

agglomerate (form into one cluster)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

cluster; clustering (a grouping of a number of similar things)

 Context examples 

This is the highest number of pairs of cavities ever discovered in either a group or a cluster of galaxies.

(Chandra Finds Evidence for Serial Black Hole Eruptions, NASA)

They happen when pigment cells in the skin, called melanocytes, grow in clusters.

(Moles, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

They found the virtual bees changed the shape of their cluster in the same way as did those in the real one, offering strong evidence that their theory was correct.

(Bees Help Researchers Confirm Theory about Maintaining Protective Clumps under Tough Conditions, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Cell migration might result from cooperation between ERK/MAPKs and Rho proteins, FAK activation, beta-integrin clustering and beta-catenin activation.

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Till Elizabeth entered the drawing-room at Netherfield, and looked in vain for Mr. Wickham among the cluster of red coats there assembled, a doubt of his being present had never occurred to her.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

The calculations revealed that such a model can explain the perplexing spatially clustered orbits of some TNOs.

(Mystery orbits in outermost reaches of solar system not caused by ‘Planet Nine’, University of Cambridge)

These clusters varied in length from 6 to 15 residues.

(Amphipathic Alpha Helix, NCI Thesaurus)

A process by which particles collect to form a cohesive mass or cluster.

(Aggregation, NCI Thesaurus)

Disease-associated mutations tend to be clustered in a small region designated the mutation cluster region (MCR) and result in a truncated protein product.

(Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Other clusters of stars seen below NGC 1333 in this image have posed a fascinating mystery for astronomers: They appear to contain stellar infants, adolescents and adults.

(Spitzer Studies a Stellar Playground With a Long History, NASA)