Definition of "consolidate" []

• To unite into one system or whole; combine: consolidated five separate agencies into a single department. (verb-transitive)
• To make strong or secure; strengthen: She consolidated her power during her first year in office. (verb-transitive)
• To make firm or coherent; form into a compact mass. (verb-transitive)
• To become solidified or united. (verb-intransitive)
• To join in a merger or union: The two firms consolidated under a new name. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Sleep helps your brain consolidate information, so without that recovery time, you're unable to file away important data."
• "They fear that uncertainty going into the Democratic convention at the end of August will merely help John McCain consolidate his Republican base and win over independents and moderate Democrats."
• "The real driver behind the desire to consolidate is globalisation -- a force that is dramatically changing how companies compete and succeed."