collection

[kuh-lek-shuhn]

noun

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.

collection

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• collectional adjective
• noncollection noun
• precollection noun
• subcollection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of collection¹

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; collect ¹ ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Director of development Paul Robalino says that rather than traditional writers rooms in TV development, “Game Changer” is more “assignment-based”: a collection of 10 writers are given a week to write for an episode.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Worth more than £27bn, the Welsh government's spending plans for next year pays for services from hospitals to bin collections.

Read more on BBC

Analysts say prices are climbing high enough that silver owners large and small might sell from their vaults or their grandfathers’ coin collections—both sources of aboveground inventory—which could put pressure on prices.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Palace covers over 125 years of style and the collection continues to grow.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The goldmining museum, which contains a collection of artifacts dating back to the 1874 Black Hills Gold Rush, offers panning lessons and the chance to prospect on its land, finders keepers.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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