collector
Americannoun
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a person or thing that collects.
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a person employed to collect debts, duties, taxes, etc.
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a person who collects books, paintings, stamps, shells, etc., especially as a hobby.
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Electricity. a device for accumulating current from contact conductors.
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Electronics. an electrode in a transistor or vacuum tube for collecting electrons, ions, or holes.
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Metallurgy. promoter.
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Energy. solar collector.
noun
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a person or thing that collects
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a person employed to collect debts, rents, etc
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the head of a district administration in India
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a person who collects or amasses objects as a hobby
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electronics the region in a transistor into which charge carriers flow from the base
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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collectoratenoun
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collectorshipnoun
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precollectornoun
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subcollectornoun
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subcollectorshipnoun
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undercollectornoun
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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!
Vocabulary lists containing collector
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.
A second explosion occurred while rescue operations were on, injuring 13 more people, though none sustained serious burns, District Collector NO Sukhaputra told ANI news agency.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
The top art biography for me this year was “Irascible: The Combative Life of Douglas Cooper, Collector and Friend of Picasso,” by Adrian Clark and Richard Calvocoressi.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
My initials are literally on a pair of their shoes, the Sole Collector Micro G Bloodline.
From Slate • Nov. 15, 2025
He gained prominence in the 1960s as a style icon of the “Swinging London” era, starring in films like Far from the Madding Crowd and The Collector.
From Salon • Aug. 17, 2025
Seed Collector would have been hiding in the shadows, darting from one hiding spot to another.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
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.
