collected
Americanadjective
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having control of one's faculties; self-possessed.
Despite all the turmoil around him, Bob remained calm and collected.
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brought or placed together; forming an aggregation from various sources.
the money collected to build an orphanage; the collected essays of Thoreau.
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Manège.
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(of a moving horse) noting a compact pose in which the legs are well under the body, the head is arched at the poll, the jaw is relaxed, etc.
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(of a gait of such a horse) characterized by short, elevated strides.
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adjective
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in full control of one's faculties; composed
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assembled in totality or brought together into one volume or a set of volumes
the collected works of Dickens
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(of a horse or a horse's pace) controlled so that movement is in short restricted steps
a collected canter
Related Words
See calm.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of collected
Explanation
Use the adjective collected to describe a person who stays cool and calm, even under pressure. There are certain people who always seem completely self-possessed and unflappable no matter what is going on around them. You can describe these people as collected. If a kid throws up on the school bus and the driver is unruffled, he is collected. A confident, poised trapeze artist is also collected. If you're upset, you might say, "I need to collect myself," and once you have calmed yourself, you are collected.
Vocabulary lists containing collected
Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
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Black Brother, Black Brother
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Lesson 17
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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.
The wrongdoing was uncovered last year after an investigation found that between 1966 and 1991 pathologists may have "actively sourced" 177 human specimens collected during autopsies before handing them to a university museum.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
These can be collected when borrowers prepay their loans early by refinancing, or when a new loan is arranged.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026
Streamers can take the consumer research collected by advertisers and align them with the viewing habits of their subscribers.
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Data collected by Mars Express has significantly expanded scientists' understanding of Mars and its geological history.
From Science Daily • May 15, 2026
She adjusted the shoulders of her blue jacket, then shook her skirt to loosen the dirt she’d collected on the walk.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
