collection plate
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of collection plate
First recorded in 1875–80
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.
With a fee that she purloins from a church collection plate, she implores him for help and he agrees, as he learns more about this young girl’s challenging childhood.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
These days, the church raises up to $3,000 per game - about half of what goes into the collection plate on Sundays, said its pastor, Keith Dickens.
From Washington Times • Oct. 20, 2023
Social pressure is always at work when the workplace passes around the proverbial collection plate, but you can either abstain silently or explain that you can’t afford any additional expenses right now.
From New York Times • May 14, 2023
Down the hall, 56-year-old Janine Cox gets an occasional bag of chips from the vending machine and scrimps to add to the collection plate at church.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2023
He had passed one collection plate down the pew behind her, and while waiting for its mate to return via the row she was sitting on, he winked openly and solemnly at her.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
![]()
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.