collect

¹ American  

[kuh-lekt] / kəˈlɛkt /

verb (used with object)

1. to gather together; assemble.

   The professor collected the students' exams.

   Synonyms:

   aggregate , amass

   Antonyms:

   disperse , disband , assign , allot

2. to accumulate; make a collection of.

   to collect stamps.

   Antonyms:

   scatter , distribute

3. to receive or compel payment of.

   to collect a bill.

4. to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like).

   At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.

   Synonyms:

   calm , compose

5. to call for and take with one: They collected their mail.

   He drove off to collect his guests.

   They collected their mail.

6. Manège.  to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.

7. Archaic.  to infer.

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verb (used without object)

1. to gather together; assemble.

   The students collected in the assembly hall.

2. to accumulate.

   Rainwater collected in the barrel.

3. to receive payment (often followed byon ).

   He collected on the damage to his house.

4. to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby.

   He's been collecting for years.

5. Manège.  (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.

adjective

1. requiring payment by the recipient: a telegram sent collect.

   a collect telephone call;

   a telegram sent collect.

collect ² American  

[kol-ekt] / ˈkɒl ɛkt /

noun

1. any of certain brief prayers used in Western churches especially before the epistle in the communion service.

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collect ¹ British  

/ kəˈlɛkt /

verb

1. to gather together or be gathered together

2. to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study

3. (tr) to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)

4. (tr) to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprise

   he collected his wits

5. (tr) to fetch; pick up

   collect your own post

   he collected the children after school

6. slang  to receive large sums of money, as from an investment

   he really collected when the will was read

7. informal  (tr) to collide with; be hit by

8. the US term for cash on delivery

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adverb

1. (of telephone calls) on a reverse-charge basis

noun

1. informal  a winning bet

collect ² British  

/ ˈkɒlɛkt /

noun

1. Christianity a short Church prayer generally preceding the lesson or epistle in Communion and other services

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Related Words

See gather.

Etymology

Origin of collect¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin collēctus (past participle of colligere “to collect”), equivalent to col- “with, together” + leg- (stem of legere “to gather”) + -tus past participle suffix; col- ¹

Origin of collect²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English collecte, from Old French collecte, colete, and Medieval Latin collecta, short for ōrātiō ad collēctam “prayer at collection”; collect ¹

Example Sentences

Composer is fueled by years worth of product use data that Cursor has been collecting from developers since its launch in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal

Maro and his colleagues collected intact, freshly fallen fruits lying beneath trees where chimps had recently been feeding.

From Science Daily

Looking ahead, Watanabe hopes to apply the zap-and-freeze method to brain tissue collected, with permission, from individuals with Parkinson's disease who are undergoing deep brain stimulation procedures.

From Science Daily

The company has about 650,000 members in the UK who rent cars by the hour or day from an app and collect the vehicles from parking spaces.

From BBC

New York will collect a license fee of at least $500 million from each recipient.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• amass
• assemble
• compile
• gather
• save