collection
Americannoun
-
the act of collecting.
-
something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, especially for some purpose or as a result of some process: a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom;
a stamp collection;
a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom;
a collection of books on Churchill.
- Synonyms:
- store, hoard, pile, heap, mass, aggregation, accumulation
-
the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum.
a history of the museum and of the collection.
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the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc..
an excellent Picasso collection.
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collections, the various holdings of an art museum organized by category, as painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, or film.
the director of the collections.
-
the clothes or other items produced by a designer, especially for a seasonal line.
the spring collection.
-
a sum of money collected, especially for charity or church use.
- Synonyms:
- alms, contribution(s)
-
Manège. act of bringing or coming into a collected attitude.
noun
-
the act or process of collecting
-
a number of things collected or assembled together
-
a selection of clothes, esp as presented by a particular designer for a specified season
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something gathered into a mass or pile; accumulation
a collection of rubbish
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a sum of money collected or solicited, as in church
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removal, esp regular removal of letters from a postbox
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(often plural) (at Oxford University) a college examination or an oral report by a tutor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of collection
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English colleccioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin collēctiōn-, stem of collēctiō “a gathering together,” from collēct(us) “gathered together” (past participle of colligere; see collect 1) + -iō -ion
Explanation
A collection is a group of things, often a group created by someone. For example, many kids have a collection of comic books. Notice the word collect in collection. If you like to collect — that is, gather — things, chances are you might have a collection of some sort. Some common types of collections are of books, stamps, and dolls. You can also refer to a museum's "collection of art." While you might call a group of people a gathering, you would call a group of rare coins a collection.
Vocabulary lists containing collection
National Librarian Day
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 18
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Research Strategies, Using the Internet, and Using the Library
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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.
See Examples For:
Museum Wales said Running Away with the Hairdresser was one of the most popular works in their collection.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Does housing and spying czar Bill Pulte want another brass nameplate for his collection?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Gallery Dept. releases its first eyewear collection designed by founder Josué Thomas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Amongst the collection of bags brought up on one such Cornish trip were cuttings of a small red algae which was pink-banded with pincer tips.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
She loves jogging and has an extensive collection of blues albums.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Most came from the collections of the U-M Museum of Zoology.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
It’s a wistful, country-folk paean that offers both a wry yet realistic assessment of the disposition of collections someone leaves the planet.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
Despite the decline, the company noted that the brand’s new collections continued to gain traction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
He also admitted one count of theft, which related to money stolen from collections meant for 12 charities, including the Salvation Army and Macmillan Cancer Support as well as local causes.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Then they take them home and put them in their private collections, or in museums.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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.
