take up a collection
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Request and gather donations, as in They were taking up a collection for the church that burned down, or The veterans' group takes up a collection every month of household goods and furniture. This idiom was first recorded in 1849.
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Words nearby take up a collection
take to task, take to the cleaners, take turns, take umbrage, take-up, take up a collection, take up arms, take up for, take up on, take-up reel, take up space
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.