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

See Examples For:

collection collections

The Osaka exhibition, running through September 27, will feature a total dozen paintings from the Mauritshuis collection, including Vermeer's "Diana and her Nymphs" and "The Laughing Man" by Rembrandt.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

A new collection of Eve Babitz’s largely unsent correspondence, “Too L.A.,” resurrects the cult writer’s singular voice — and revelry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

If you imagine a collection of matter representing "a universe," Einstein's equations can tell you how that collection should evolve.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

He makes YouTube videos about his 12-car collection in his home city of Phoenix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

As he walked through its Italian collection, he told the Florence police, he marveled at the scale of Napoleon’s plunder.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Museums, including the London Museum, external, now hold examples in their permanent collections as important artefacts documenting the fight for women's voting rights.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Planned measures include reducing the frequency of bin collections, closing heritage attractions, ending bus routes and - in the case of one council - completely removing sheltered housing support.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

To determine which animals were actually attacking prey, researchers examined fossils preserved in museum collections.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

The Chinese cosmetics company plans to roll out two Proya skincare collections at 400 Ulta stores and its e-commerce platform in November.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Unlike most private collections, which were located in grand homes and centered on a few signature paintings, this seemed more like a secret museum, with multiple galleries and an array of masterpieces.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Related Words

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