clusters

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of cluster.

   Galaxies often form clusters held together by gravity.

   Tiny white flowers bloom in dense clusters along each stem.

   Note

   A regular plural that carries every meaning of its singular, from bunches of flowers to galaxies bound by gravity. Several fields count in it: physicists for bound groups of atoms, epidemiologists for outbreaks of one disease in one place and time, computing for linked machines and for disk storage units. The same spelling also serves as the present-tense verb. After a number it is a noun; after a singular subject it is a verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of cluster.

   Dust clusters in the corners of rooms that are rarely cleaned.

   The whole team clusters around the whiteboard at every meeting.

   Note

   The present-tense form works in two constructions. Used intransitively, the subject does the gathering: dust clusters in corners, a team clusters around a whiteboard. Used transitively, someone sorts things into groups, as an analyst does with data points. It can also mean covering a surface with groups of something. The test is simple: if an object follows, someone is doing the arranging.

   The software clusters the data points by similarity before plotting them.

   Each spring she clusters the border with bulbs.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2