collector
Americannoun
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a person or thing that collects.
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a person employed to collect debts, duties, taxes, etc.
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a person who collects books, paintings, stamps, shells, etc., especially as a hobby.
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Electricity. a device for accumulating current from contact conductors.
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Electronics. an electrode in a transistor or vacuum tube for collecting electrons, ions, or holes.
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Metallurgy. promoter.
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Energy. solar collector.
noun
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a person or thing that collects
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a person employed to collect debts, rents, etc
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the head of a district administration in India
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a person who collects or amasses objects as a hobby
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electronics the region in a transistor into which charge carriers flow from the base
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of collector
1375–1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin colleg- (variant stem of colligere; see collect 1) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A collector is a person who accumulates special objects, like stamps or coins. If you're crazy about unicorns, you may also be a collector of unicorn figurines, stickers, and paintings. Collector is from a Latin word meaning "to gather." The 14th-century word was originally used for tax collectors, who gathered money from citizens. By the late 1700s, people who amassed collections of things were also called collectors. It's common for kids to be collectors of trading cards, stuffed animals, rocks, and shells. There are also plenty of adult collectors, who acquire antiques, art, books, and more. If you can think of an interesting object, it's probably got collectors!
Vocabulary lists containing collector
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The bank says feedback from dealers points to exceptionally strong demand for special models and core combustion-powered cars, and moderating declines in hybrid residual values, with one dealer describing the collector market as “insane.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
Following years of research in 2012 he tracked down a collector in east Asia who had his father's medals and was willing to sell them for a large sum.
From BBC • May 29, 2026
The work, bought by an anonymous U.S. collector bidding over the telephone, met its high estimate and now ranks as the artist’s third-highest price at auction.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
JW: I was a DJ around L.A. and I’m still a record collector and a fanatic about music, as well as film, and so I wanted to create an atmosphere.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
He became an assiduous collector of government contracts large and small, starting with the production of radioisotopes at a standard fee of $25 per hour of cyclotron time.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
