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

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

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

At the center of the facility is a sophisticated collection of instruments known as the science module.

From Science Daily • Jun. 23, 2026

Now, in the year 2026, we have the mathematical equivalent of carpet-bombing; drop a munitions-budget worth of tokens on a collection of unsolved problems and see what’s left standing afterward.

From Slate • Jun. 22, 2026

Richard is fully prepared for the World Cup: he has a passion for England memorabilia, including a scarf touched by King Charles, and a collection of hats, ratchets and horns.

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

“The home showcases a collection of reclaimed light fixtures, rich natural materials, and architectural details that evoke the character of a refined wine-country retreat while remaining perfectly suited to Los Angeles living.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

Molly had even expressed interest in finally getting around to digitizing their film collection as a pretext to learning how to edit video content for the internet, an interest that Clara had thankfully not questioned.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

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