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

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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

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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

See Examples For:

collector collectors

A breakthrough came when fossil collector Cliff Linster discovered a second specimen near Ten Sleep, Wyoming.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2026

There was a real fear, James says, that the merry-go-round would fall into the hands of a private collector, as the carousel, if not officially, has long symbolically belonged to L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Cena, who is himself a car collector, recounted one of the most significant car purchases of his life -- "a fake Lamborghini."

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

“Peter and I were pretty much on the same page, but he’s more of a collector of old stuff than I am. He kept boxes and boxes of old files going way back,” Shelby said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

Years later, when a chess collector finally took possession of the littered set and cleaned it up, Bobby’s reaction was typically indignant: “You’ve ruined it!”

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Kelbaugh has since 1971 scoured antique shows and flea markets for images of Black Americans which in the early days few collectors were interested in.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

While the museum has largely kept mum, Sytner, an 82-year-old Liverpool native based in Italy, has gone to great lengths to persuade collectors and experts of his car’s singular authenticity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026

One of the best places to witness the region’s transformation into a destination for artists and collectors is Arthouse, a gallery in Marble Falls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Police have made no arrests or recovered any cards, which had been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator and were being shipped back to collectors nationwide.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

They were far more highly prized than any other objects that were brought out of the tombs, because private collectors and a few foreign museums paid very handsomely for them.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

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Related Words

• connoisseur
• hobbyist

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