lump together

present singular third person lumps together · participle present lumping together · participle past lumped together · past lumped together

1. To put different items or groups together and regard or treat them as one single group (either knowingly or unknowingly, and either advisedly or unadvisedly).

   Near-synonyms: combine; aggregate

   3 more examples

   In this discussion, we will lump together various breeds of spaniels, because the differences among them don't matter for our practical purposes here.

   People tend to lump turtles and tortoises together, but in fact they are different creatures.

   April 14, 2007, The Guardian, The poorest of the poor "Those who asked the authorities for help were a mixed bag: elderly, unemployed, sick or injured, widows, orphans, the mentally ill; all were lumped together in a "one size fits all" welfare system."

   Synonyms: combine, aggregate · Antonyms: separate, segregate, sequester, differentiate, distinguish