Com`bi*na"tion (?), n.
[LL. combinatio. See Combine.]
1. The act or process of combining or uniting persons and
things.
Making new compounds by new combinations.
Boyle.
A solemn combination
shall be made
Of our
dear souls.
Shak.
2. The result of combining or uniting; union of persons or things; esp. a union or alliance of persons or states to effect some purpose; -- usually in a bad sense.
A
combination of the most powerful men in Rome who had
conspired my ruin.
Melmoth.
3. (Chem.)
The act or process of
uniting by chemical affinity, by which substances unite with each other in definite proportions by weight to form distinct
compounds.
4. pl. (Math.) The different arrangements of a number of
objects, as letters, into
groups.
&fist; In
combinations no regard
is paid to the order in
which the objects are arranged in each group, while in variations and permutations this order is respected. Brande & C.
Combination
car, a railroad car containing two or more
compartments used for different purposes. [U. S.] -- Combination lock, a lock in which
the mechanism is controlled by means of a movable
dial (sometimes by several dials or rings) inscribed with letters or other characters. The bolt of the lock can
not be operated until after the dial has
been so turned as to combine
the characters in a certain order or succession. -- Combination room,
in the University of Cambridge, Eng.,
a room into
which the fellows withdraw after dinner, for wine, dessert, and conversation. --
Combination by volume (Chem.), the act, process, or ratio by which gaseous elements and compounds unite in definite proportions by volume to
form distinct
compounds. -- Combination by weight (Chem.),
the act, process, or ratio, in which substances unite in proportions by weight, relatively fixed and exact, to form distinct compounds. See Law of definite proportions, under Definite.
Syn. -- Cabal; alliance; association;
league; union; confederacy; coalition; conspiracy.
See Cabal.
Hear it pronounced