collection

[ kuh-lek-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of collecting.
2. something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, especially for some purpose or as a result of some process: a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom;

   a stamp collection;

   a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom;

   a collection of books on Churchill.

   Synonyms: store, hoard, pile, heap, aggregation, accumulation, mass

3. the works of art constituting the holdings of an art museum:

   a history of the museum and of the collection.

4. the gathered or exhibited works of a single painter, sculptor, etc.:

   an excellent Picasso collection.

5. collections, the various holdings of an art museum organized by category, as painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, or film:

   the director of the collections.

6. the clothes or other items produced by a designer, especially for a seasonal line:

   the spring collection.

7. a sum of money collected, especially for charity or church use.

   Synonyms: alms, contribution(s)

8. Manège. act of bringing or coming into a collected attitude.

collection

/ kəˈlɛkʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of collecting
2. a number of things collected or assembled together
3. a selection of clothes, esp as presented by a particular designer for a specified season
4. something gathered into a mass or pile; accumulation

   a collection of rubbish

5. a sum of money collected or solicited, as in church
6. removal, esp regular removal of letters from a postbox
7. often plural (at Oxford University) a college examination or an oral report by a tutor

Other Words From

• col·lection·al adjective
• noncol·lection noun
• precol·lection noun
• subcol·lection noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of collection¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English colleccioun, from Anglo-French, from Latin collēctiōn-, stem of collēctiō “a gathering together,” from collēct(us) “gathered together” (past participle of colligere; collect ¹ ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

So we had a collection that hit retail earlier this year that was more overt.

From Vox

West Maui and a Kihei oceanfront rentalFrom the town of Paia, a tiny but charming collection of colorful shops and restaurants, we pointed the camper van west to Kahului then north along the island’s northeastern perimeter.

From Washington Post

Google’s latest move to encourage lead form collection in SERPs without having customers ever leave Google made me think of the book this morning for some reason.

From Search Engine Land

Instead of the CPUC monitoring debts and collections, it allowed companies to self-report what they owed.

From ProPublica

It would be a meal with no real theme, a chaotic, drunken collection of my favorite foods.

From Eater

The collection includes kimono capes and hand woven jump overalls.

From The Daily Beast

Speaking of the literature you love, the Bloomsbury writers crop up in your collection repeatedly.

From The Daily Beast

In 2011, the rapper-turned-self parody debuted his first collection, Dw Kanye West.

From The Daily Beast

It houses more than 450,000 bottles of 15,000 elixirs within its collection valued at 25 million euros in 2009.

From The Daily Beast

Check out our definitive collection of destinations on the rise for next year.

From The Daily Beast

The collection in the Academy I thought much better, but still far enough behind similar galleries in Rome.

From Project Gutenberg

At length the great Pit Town collection was housed as it deserved to be.

From Project Gutenberg

I have made a small collection of early stories, and some of them are interesting enough to be quoted.

From Project Gutenberg

In the collection and method used, considerable annoyances are experienced.

From Project Gutenberg

Outside Derby station was a ticket platform at which all incoming trains stopped for the collection of tickets.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• assemblage
• assortment
• compilation
• lot
• number
• selection
• set
• store