collect
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
collects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collected,
past participle, past
-
collecting
present participle
-
to gather together; assemble.
The professor collected the students' exams.
-
to accumulate; make a collection of.
to collect stamps.
- Antonyms:
- scatter, distribute
-
to receive or compel payment of.
to collect a bill.
-
to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like).
At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.
-
to call for and take with one: They collected their mail.
He drove off to collect his guests.
They collected their mail.
-
Manège. to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.
-
Archaic. to infer.
verb (used without object)
-
collects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collected,
past participle, past
-
collecting
present participle
-
to gather together; assemble.
The students collected in the assembly hall.
-
to accumulate.
Rainwater collected in the barrel.
-
to receive payment (often followed byon ).
He collected on the damage to his house.
-
to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby.
He's been collecting for years.
-
Manège. (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.
adjective
noun
verb
-
to gather together or be gathered together
-
to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study
-
(tr) to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)
-
(tr) to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprise
he collected his wits
-
(tr) to fetch; pick up
collect your own post
he collected the children after school
-
slang to receive large sums of money, as from an investment
he really collected when the will was read
-
informal (tr) to collide with; be hit by
-
the US term for cash on delivery
adverb
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See gather.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
collectsimple
-
collectssimple
-
have collectedperfect
-
has collectedperfect
-
am collectingprogressive
-
are collectingprogressive
-
is collectingprogressive
-
have been collectingperfect progressive
-
has been collectingperfect progressive
Past
-
collectedsimple
-
had collectedperfect
-
was collectingprogressive
-
were collectingprogressive
-
had been collectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collect1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin collēctus (past participle of colligere “to collect”), equivalent to col- “with, together” + leg- (stem of legere “to gather”) + -tus past participle suffix; see col- 1
Origin of collect2
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English collecte, from Old French collecte, colete, and Medieval Latin collecta, short for ōrātiō ad collēctam “prayer at collection”; see origin at collect 1
Explanation
The verb collect describes gathering or bringing something together. Charity organizations often collect warm coats for people in need. Other people who want to help those in need seek monetary donations. If you volunteer for a charity, you may collect on behalf of the charity — meaning you get donations. Collect can also refer to getting payment for money that is owed. If you owe money to someone, eventually he'll find you and say, "I'm here to collect."
Vocabulary lists containing collect
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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"A Natural Balance" and "In My Dreams"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
Two pilots and two medical staff, both Canadian, had flown to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, told CBC News.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
When he arrived on the scene, Kenig threw himself into the task he knew: helping survivors, then combing the site to collect bodies, which were in harrowing conditions.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
He and English co-driver Elliott Edmondson were also on course to win the final stage and collect a maximum 35 points for the weekend to take the title by two points.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Roman is already designed to collect this information for scientific observations, allowing engineers to use the same capability to help determine and maintain the telescope's precise position.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
Then we have to collect gum from another tree, called a silalei.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
Profits generated by the canal are also vital for government coffers, providing 20 cents of every dollar it collects in revenue, representing more than $3 billion annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
If water collects in certain spots, or if your crawl space is consistently damp, consider installing a sump pump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
It includes two cameras that capture detailed black-and-white images and another camera that collects moderate-resolution multispectral images.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
Felix, a food redistribution charity, collects surplus food from shops and other providers so that it is not thrown away or incinerated.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Gray ash collects on the grate; black burns scar logs.
From "Paradise on Fire" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Samples are usually collected at just one or two locations shortly before the race, which means it does not provide detailed data.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
FedEx said it was the importer of 43% of the 53 million tariff entries collected by the government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
We said tuition “would be collected only if education is delivered, and it would be the policy of the school to refund all tuition payments for educational services that are not provided.”
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Nearly 30 hours of exposure time collected enough light for the team to identify extremely faint absorption features in the spectra of the distant galaxies.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
I thought about mentioning this to Regan, but she was the picture of cool, calm, and collected, and I decided against it.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Leveraging cuteness to sell products isn’t exactly a new phenomenon — just ask the toy industry, which thrives on getting kids and young adults invested in collecting new cute or cuddly products.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026
The department can continue collecting funds every quarter as long as it remains on the task force.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
It also arranged his credit card statements in a spreadsheet and helped him pursue his hobby of collecting ceramic bowls, a task which strikes me as having a fairly small community of potential users.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Rather than collecting all new samples, the team sequenced DNA from tissues that veterinarians had already obtained for diagnostic purposes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
“Were you collecting milk cans again?” my mother asked me one evening when I came home stinking like a dead animal.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
