collection

[kuh-lek-shuhn]

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.

collection

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of collection¹

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

In the second major Ocean Species Discoveries collection, more than 20 researchers collaborated to describe 14 new marine invertebrate species and two new genera from across the globe.

Read more on Science Daily

Using samples from Roscoff and a second collection in Bilbao, Spain, the team conducted one of the most comprehensive studies ever of the cytoskeleton -- the filament network that supports and organizes eukaryotic cells.

Read more on Science Daily

The event, which is Europe's biggest one-day street collection, saw military bands perform for commuters at major stations.

Read more on BBC

There was arguably more pressure on this team than any other collection of players in major league history, and, yet, somehow, the Dodgers thrived.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They almost convinced everyone that their injury-plagued summertime swoon, their painfully leaky bullpen and their shaky World Series performance meant that the most expensive collection of talent ever assembled was vulnerable.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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