collective
Americanadjective
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formed by collection.
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forming a whole; combined.
the collective assets of a corporation and its subsidiaries.
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of or characteristic of a group of individuals taken together.
the collective wishes of the membership.
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organized according to the principles of collectivism.
a collective farm.
noun
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collectives
plural
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a collective body; group.
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a business, farm, etc., jointly owned and operated by the members of a group.
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a unit of organization or the organization in a collectivist system.
adjective
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formed or assembled by collection
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forming a whole or aggregate
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of, done by, or characteristic of individuals acting in cooperation
noun
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a cooperative enterprise or unit, such as a collective farm
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the members of such a cooperative
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short for collective noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of collective
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English collectif (from Middle French ), from Latin collēctīvus, equivalent to collēct(us) (past participle of colligere; see collect 1) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Collective is a word that describes a group of people acting together. A prom might turn into a smashing success through the collective efforts of the student body. The word collective indicates a group, and is often used in opposition to the efforts or will of an individual. Your neighbor who is the only one on the block who refuses to mow her lawn? She's going against the collective. A commune is a type of collective living situation in which several families might live together and contribute for the benefit of the whole. If you work well with others, then you appreciate how collective efforts often have better results.
Vocabulary lists containing collective
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968)
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"What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?" Vocabulary from the short story
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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:
In a recent ruling against Meta, a judge in New Mexico fined the company a collective $942m and ordered it to make changes similar to those that the additional states are now demanding.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Morocco has also experienced youth-driven social movements, such as the GenZ 212 collective, which last year organised mass protests calling for better health and education services.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
The cataclysm is indelibly seared into La Guaira’s collective consciousness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Gianni: Since Antoine Semenyo left Bournemouth, you could argue they have no clear standout individual, and some would say that's a strength of the team – the ability of the collective is all important.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
First, the achievement of the revolutionary generation was a collective enterprise that succeeded because of the diversity of personalities and ideologies present in the mix.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
These might include karaoke nights, themed bingo happy hours, and raves, often thrown with well-respected collectives.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
Instead of direct pay from universities, athletes receive funds indirectly through NIL collectives, donors and sponsorship deals, which the school can broker.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
It’s why Hernandez organized a drag show with seven community organizations in Havana, including gay advocacy group RedHSH and transgender collectives TransCuba and La Red Afro-Cubana de Personas Trans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Kiffin has said that the best jobs in college football are the ones whose NIL collectives, which fund so-called “name, image and likeness” payments, had the biggest war chests to spend on players.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
The number of small farms merged into collectives was a number about equal to the current population of Texas.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
