collector

American  

[kuh-lek-ter] / kəˈlɛk tər /

noun

collectors plural

1. a person or thing that collects.

2. a person employed to collect debts, duties, taxes, etc.

3. a person who collects books, paintings, stamps, shells, etc., especially as a hobby.

4. Electricity. a device for accumulating current from contact conductors.

5. Electronics. an electrode in a transistor or vacuum tube for collecting electrons, ions, or holes.

6. Metallurgy. promoter.

7. Energy. solar collector.

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collector British  

/ kəˈlɛktə /

noun

1. a person or thing that collects

2. a person employed to collect debts, rents, etc

3. the head of a district administration in India

4. a person who collects or amasses objects as a hobby

5. electronics the region in a transistor into which charge carriers flow from the base

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• collectorate
  noun
• collectorship
  noun
• precollector
  noun
• subcollector
  noun
• subcollectorship
  noun
• undercollector
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• collectors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of collector

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Medieval Latin, equivalent to Latin colleg- (variant stem of colligere; see collect ¹) + -tor -tor

Explanation

A collector is a person who accumulates special objects, like stamps or coins. If you're crazy about unicorns, you may also be a collector of unicorn figurines, stickers, and paintings. Collector is from a Latin word meaning "to gather." The 14th-century word was originally used for tax collectors, who gathered money from citizens. By the late 1700s, people who amassed collections of things were also called collectors. It's common for kids to be collectors of trading cards, stuffed animals, rocks, and shells. There are also plenty of adult collectors, who acquire antiques, art, books, and more. If you can think of an interesting object, it's probably got collectors!

Example Sentences

One notable discovery was the battery's tabless, double-aluminum current collector design.

From Science Daily • Jun. 21, 2026

The memoir of a garbage collector in Montreal yields a rich reflection on what our refuse says about us.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Panel members said the testimony showed Epstein was a "friend collector" and associated with people like Gates to "project power and influence".

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

The bank says feedback from dealers points to exceptionally strong demand for special models and core combustion-powered cars, and moderating declines in hybrid residual values, with one dealer describing the collector market as “insane.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026

Wandering about among his worthless stock, with his long nose and thick spectacles and his bowed shoulders in the velvet jacket, he had always vaguely the air of being a collector rather than a tradesman.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist