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cluster

Pronunciation: /ˈklʌstə/

The English word “cluster” has 16 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A bunch or group of several discrete items that are close to each other.
  2. A group of galaxies, nebulae, or stars that appear to the naked eye to be near each other.
  3. An ensemble of bound atoms (especially of a metal) or molecules, intermediate in size between a molecule and a bulk solid.
  4. A group of computers that work together.
  5. A logical data storage unit containing one or more physical sectors (see block (noun)).
  6. A group of cases of the same disease occurring around the same place or time.
  7. Synonym of lexical bundle (“a sequence of two or more words that occur in a language with high frequency but are not idiomatic”).
  8. A set of bombs or mines released as part of the same blast.
  9. In full oak leaf cluster: a small bronze or silver device shaped like a twig of oak leaves and acorns which is worn on a ribbon to indicate that the wearer has been conferred the same award or decoration before; an oakleaf.
  10. A secundal chord of three or more notes.
  11. A pronounceable group of consonants that occur together: a consonant cluster.
  12. In cluster analysis: a subset of a population whose members are similar enough to each other and distinct from others as to be considered a separate group; also, such a grouping in a set of observed data that is statistically significant.
  13. A number of individuals (animals or people) collected in one place or grouped together; a crowd, a mob, a swarm.

verb

  1. To collect (animals, people, objects, data points, etc) into clusters (noun sense 1).
  2. To cover (with clusters); to scatter or strew in clusters (within); to distribute (objects) within such that they form clusters.
  3. To form a cluster or group; to assemble, to gather.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English cluster (“bunch, cluster, spray; compact body or mass, ball”) [and other forms], from Old English cluster, clyster (“cluster, bunch, branch”), from Proto-Germanic *klas-, *klus- (“to clump, lump together”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up; to clench; to amass”)) + *-þrą (suffix forming nouns denoting an instrument or tool). The English…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.