collector

[ kuh-lek-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that collects.
2. a person employed to collect debts, duties, taxes, etc.
3. a person who collects books, paintings, stamps, shells, etc., especially as a hobby.
4. Electricity. a device for accumulating current from contact conductors.
5. Electronics. an electrode in a transistor or vacuum tube for collecting electrons, ions, or holes.
6. Metallurgy. promoter ( def 5 ).
7. Energy. solar collector.

collector

/ kəˈlɛktə /

noun

1. a person or thing that collects
2. a person employed to collect debts, rents, etc
3. the head of a district administration in India
4. a person who collects or amasses objects as a hobby
5. electronics the region in a transistor into which charge carriers flow from the base

Derived Forms

• colˈlectorˌship, noun

Other Words From

• col·lector·ship col·lector·ate noun
• precol·lector noun
• subcol·lector noun
• subcol·lector·ship noun
• under·col·lector noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of collector¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin colleg- (variant stem of colligere; collect ¹ ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

He grew up both a computer geek in the early days of video games and an avid record collector.

From The Daily Beast

He was an on-and-off drug addict and sometimes a criminal; he was a collector of switchblades and vintage Disney T-shirts.

From The Daily Beast

We want to be the global auction house for the new collector at lower price points and create a more liquid market.

From The Daily Beast

Now, just as avid an art collector, Jay Z spoke about the meeting of cultural worlds (and rapped about them) in “Picasso Baby”.

From The Daily Beast

Paddle8 already has a “sticky collector base who are addicted to the site,” he says.

From The Daily Beast

A native brought news that a collector and his wife were hiding in a swamp near the road.

From Project Gutenberg

To assist the amateur and collector in this pursuit is the object of the present little work.

From Project Gutenberg

In the end, the Company's tea was seized by the Collector and stored in the vaults under the Exchange.

From Project Gutenberg

Some of the seed was sent to the collector of Kaira, who forwarded a sample of the tobacco grown from it.

From Project Gutenberg

"You are the first stranger as has been here since the tax collector last month," she said, beginning to clear away the mystery.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist