collect
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
collects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collected,
past participle, past
-
collecting
present participle
-
to gather together; assemble.
The professor collected the students' exams.
-
to accumulate; make a collection of.
to collect stamps.
- Antonyms:
- scatter, distribute
-
to receive or compel payment of.
to collect a bill.
-
to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like).
At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.
-
to call for and take with one: They collected their mail.
He drove off to collect his guests.
They collected their mail.
-
Manège. to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.
-
Archaic. to infer.
verb (used without object)
-
collects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collected,
past participle, past
-
collecting
present participle
-
to gather together; assemble.
The students collected in the assembly hall.
-
to accumulate.
Rainwater collected in the barrel.
-
to receive payment (often followed byon ).
He collected on the damage to his house.
-
to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby.
He's been collecting for years.
-
Manège. (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.
adjective
noun
verb
-
to gather together or be gathered together
-
to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study
-
(tr) to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)
-
(tr) to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprise
he collected his wits
-
(tr) to fetch; pick up
collect your own post
he collected the children after school
-
slang to receive large sums of money, as from an investment
he really collected when the will was read
-
informal (tr) to collide with; be hit by
-
the US term for cash on delivery
adverb
noun
noun
Synonym Usage
See gather.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
collectsimple
-
collectssimple
-
have collectedperfect
-
has collectedperfect
-
am collectingprogressive
-
are collectingprogressive
-
is collectingprogressive
-
have been collectingperfect progressive
-
has been collectingperfect progressive
Past
-
collectedsimple
-
had collectedperfect
-
was collectingprogressive
-
were collectingprogressive
-
had been collectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collect1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin collēctus (past participle of colligere “to collect”), equivalent to col- “with, together” + leg- (stem of legere “to gather”) + -tus past participle suffix; see col- 1
Origin of collect2
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English collecte, from Old French collecte, colete, and Medieval Latin collecta, short for ōrātiō ad collēctam “prayer at collection”; see origin at collect 1
Explanation
The verb collect describes gathering or bringing something together. Charity organizations often collect warm coats for people in need. Other people who want to help those in need seek monetary donations. If you volunteer for a charity, you may collect on behalf of the charity — meaning you get donations. Collect can also refer to getting payment for money that is owed. If you owe money to someone, eventually he'll find you and say, "I'm here to collect."
Vocabulary lists containing collect
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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"A Natural Balance" and "In My Dreams"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
See Examples For:
His activists tried to block coaches that had come to collect migrants, who had arrived illegally, brought ashore after making the long journey from Normany in France.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
In retirement, some people buy an annuity with a lump-sum payment and then collect monthly sums for the rest of their lifespan.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
The ability to collect and study living heart tissue could become an important tool in the search for regenerative treatments.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
I bedazzle pieces I collect and I like how it reflects the color and turns into a rainbow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
I collect a sampling of the soil and bring it back inside my system’s chemical laboratory.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
The case now enters the discovery phase, where each side collects evidence to build their case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
As LZ collects additional data, scientists will be able to see whether the statistical significance of the event increases or whether the apparent signal eventually disappears.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Like many retailers, Matteo Sgaramella, founder of Toronto-based menswear brand Outclass, told the BBC that his company collects orders from clothing designers months before they are due to arrive in stores.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
It is fed by rainwater that collects in two artificial lakes.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
I nudge Kat, it is better to crawl out and lie on top than to stay where the gas collects most.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
I had a roommate in college who collected Margiela and Morgane Le Fay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The research also relied on a world-first approach involving heart tissue collected from living patients during bypass surgery.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor said they had collected evidence from 24 different Israeli military or intelligence figures who agreed to testify on camera in Tel Aviv as long as their identities were protected.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
GenHealth.ai, a Boston-headquartered startup building AI agents for medical back office tasks, collected $16.5 million in Series A funding led by Flare Capital Partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
In a little while the plates were collected and the pass-through in the door slammed shut.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
His only diversion is collecting newspaper clippings of famous people, leading him to make secret late-night forays into the archives to uncover the minutiae of their lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
It was during the time I was collecting footwear and I was drawn to unique footwear, especially Adidas, and at the time they were doing a collaboration with Yohji.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Also collecting: inflation-linked bonds, especially European ones still priced as if the shock washes out.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Investigators will spend the week collecting information at the crash site at Miami International Airport.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
“Maybe collecting thirty million paper clips was the only way for those guys to get their teachers to stop tolerance education.”
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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.
