collective
Americanadjective
-
formed by collection.
-
forming a whole; combined.
the collective assets of a corporation and its subsidiaries.
-
of or characteristic of a group of individuals taken together.
the collective wishes of the membership.
-
organized according to the principles of collectivism.
a collective farm.
noun
-
a collective body; group.
-
a business, farm, etc., jointly owned and operated by the members of a group.
-
a unit of organization or the organization in a collectivist system.
adjective
-
formed or assembled by collection
-
forming a whole or aggregate
-
of, done by, or characteristic of individuals acting in cooperation
noun
-
-
a cooperative enterprise or unit, such as a collective farm
-
the members of such a cooperative
-
-
short for collective noun
Other Word Forms
- collectively adverb
- collectiveness noun
- noncollective adjective
- uncollective adjective
Etymology
Origin of collective
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English collectif (from Middle French ), from Latin collēctīvus, equivalent to collēct(us) (past participle of colligere; collect 1 ) + -īvus -ive
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.
Benjamin Matheson, assistant professor at the University of Bern’s Institute on Philosophy, studies collective shame and writes on celebrity apology.
From Los Angeles Times
Others are questioning whether such fines are acceptable without collective bargaining agreements.
From MarketWatch
Though “American hegemony” offered some benefits—“open sea lanes, a stable financial system, collective security and support for frameworks for resolving disputes”—it also required collective self-deception.
If she can find a path to collective resilience in these dark times, I’d better suit up and buckle down.
From Los Angeles Times
"We're a very collective community, so we know about each other's statuses. So somebody would just call and say 'Hey, this person is sick or whatever'."
From Barron's
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.
