collection

[ kuh-lek-shuhn ]

/ kəˈlɛk ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR collection ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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 stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill.

the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum: a history of the museum and of the collection.

the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc.: an excellent Picasso collection.

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.

the clothes or other items produced by a designer, especially for a seasonal line: the spring collection.

a sum of money collected, especially for charity or church use.

Manège. act of bringing or coming into a collected attitude.

Nearby words

collectanea, collected, collected edition, collectible, collecting tubule, collection, collection agency, collection box, collection plate, collective, collective agreement

Origin of collection

1350–1400; Middle English colleccioun (< Anglo-French) < Latin collēctiōn- (stem of collēctiō), equivalent to collēct(us) (past participle of colligere; see collect¹) + -iōn- -ion

SYNONYMS FOR collection

2 accumulation, aggregation, mass, heap, pile, hoard, store.

7 contribution(s), alms.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR collection ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

col·lec·tion·al, adjectivenon·col·lec·tion, nounpre·col·lec·tion, nounsub·col·lec·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for collection

The collection includes kimono capes and hand woven jump overalls.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Speaking of the literature you love, the Bloomsbury writers crop up in your collection repeatedly.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2011, the rapper-turned-self parody debuted his first collection, Dw Kanye West.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s Balmain Campaign: High Fashion Meets Low Culture|Amy Zimmerman|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She reassumed slave posture while Couple grabbed two magnetized clamps and a collection of circular magnets from a nearby shelf.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau|Ian Frisch|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It houses more than 450,000 bottles of 15,000 elixirs within its collection valued at 25 million euros in 2009.
Inside The World’s 10 Oldest Restaurants|Justin Jones|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their system must have been composed of a collection of processes and receipts which grew in number as the centuries passed away.
A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. II (of 2)|Georges Perrot
And, continuing her search, she finally came upon an uncompleted catalogue of the Desboro collection.
The Business of Life|Robert W. Chambers
The collection of voyages by Hulsius is equally difficult to procure.
A Book for All Readers|Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Of special interest is the national Museo Borbonico, which is remarkable for its collection of antiquities.
The Harris-Ingram Experiment|Charles E. Bolton
At $155 such a book is really a bargain, especially for any one who is forming a collection of engravings.
The Library|Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for collection

collection

/ (kəˈlɛkʃən) /

noun

the act or process of collecting

a number of things collected or assembled together

a selection of clothes, esp as presented by a particular designer for a specified season

something gathered into a mass or pile; accumulationa collection of rubbish

a sum of money collected or solicited, as in church

removal, esp regular removal of letters from a postbox

(often plural) (at Oxford University) a college examination or an oral report by a tutor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012