collection

American  

[kuh-lek-shuhn] / kəˈlɛk ʃən /

noun

• collections
  plural

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• collections
  plural

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

collection collections

She said the site used to have over 500 birds in its captive collection - but, in part due to avian influenza, today there are less than 100.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Such theft accounted for billions of dollars, Aurangzeb said, adding that there remained "room for improvement" on increasing income tax collection as well.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

Modern plastics have introduced an enormous new collection of potential carbon sources into the environment, but many of these materials remain chemically inaccessible to microbes.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The company makes it clear that the cleaning service is priced with data collection in mind, providing customers with an inexpensive cleaning in exchange for using their home as a training ground.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

Mama went about gathering herbs from Babulya’s collection along the walls.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

The stories assembled here bear out the editors’ appraisal, though, as with all collections, some offerings are better than others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Suspects behind the theft were arrested last week as authorities discovered they were next planning to target the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, home to one of Europe's largest collections of modern art.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Entry is free, but anyone wanting to consult the collections has to register and book an appointment in advance because of the nature of the material.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

"Migrant communities often had to figure out their own niche in a new place," said Andrea Torvinen, collections manager of the Ceramic Technology Lab and Florida Archaeology at the Florida Museum.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Lamont wanted to take all his collections: the birds’ bones and the collar buttons and that ball of twine that kept getting bigger and bigger in his room.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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Related Words

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

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