collector

[kuh-lek-ter]

noun

1. a person or thing that collects.

2. a person employed to collect debts, duties, taxes, etc.

3. a person who collects books, paintings, stamps, shells, etc., especially as a hobby.

4. Electricity.,  a device for accumulating current from contact conductors.

5. Electronics.,  an electrode in a transistor or vacuum tube for collecting electrons, ions, or holes.

6. Metallurgy.,  promoter.

7. Energy.,  solar collector.

collector

/ kəˈlɛktə /

noun

1. a person or thing that collects

2. a person employed to collect debts, rents, etc

3. the head of a district administration in India

4. a person who collects or amasses objects as a hobby

5. electronics the region in a transistor into which charge carriers flow from the base

Other Word Forms

• collectorship noun
• collectorate noun
• precollector noun
• subcollector noun
• subcollectorship noun
• undercollector noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of collector¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin colleg- (variant stem of colligere; collect ¹ ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

“For me, it was about having a bigger studio and being able to have collectors and curators come to the studio.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This last weekend, Rare Books L.A. transformed Union Station’s historic ticket hall into a bustling biblio-bazaar, drawing more than 50 antiquarian booksellers and collectors from across the country.

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For immediate, in-person transactions, sneaker collectors will buy and sell at a place such as CoolKicks.

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Like a good bill collector, he always closes with “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

Read more on Salon

Thousands of families now risk calls from debt collectors — but officials say their hands were tied: unpaid balances were straining the district’s food service fund, which is federally required to be self-sustaining.

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Related Words

• connoisseur 
• hobbyist