collection

American  

[kuh-lek-shuhn] / kəˈlɛk ʃən /

noun

1. the act of collecting.

2. 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

3. the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum.

   a history of the museum and of the collection.

4. the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc..

   an excellent Picasso collection.

5. 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.

6. the clothes or other items produced by a designer, especially for a seasonal line.

   the spring collection.

7. a sum of money collected, especially for charity or church use.

   Synonyms:

   alms, contribution(s)

8. Manège. act of bringing or coming into a collected attitude.

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collection British  

/ kəˈlɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of collecting

2. a number of things collected or assembled together

3. a selection of clothes, esp as presented by a particular designer for a specified season

4. something gathered into a mass or pile; accumulation

   a collection of rubbish

5. a sum of money collected or solicited, as in church

6. removal, esp regular removal of letters from a postbox

7. (often plural) (at Oxford University) a college examination or an oral report by a tutor

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Other Word Forms

• collectional adjective
• noncollection noun
• precollection noun
• subcollection noun

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; collect ¹ ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

The council said it provided "an extensive kerbside collection service to recycle and dispose of household waste" as well as two recycling centres.

From BBC

I began a rudimentary collection of rocks, stones, sticks, shells, and even fish bones.

From Literature

Hot To Go! and The Giver - will be returning to the collection.

From BBC

To finish off the room, on the primary wall of the bedroom, a Japanese-inspired vintage panel from Tolles’ own collection is framed as a piece of art.

From Los Angeles Times

King Charles led a consortium which bought the house, its grounds and priceless collection of furniture for £45m.

From BBC

Related Words

• assemblage
• assortment
• compilation
• lot
• number
• selection
• set
• store