take up a collection

Idioms  

1. 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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Example Sentences

“With the war ending. I bet Louisa got married, just like Caroline did last week—Number, please. Saratoga 9780, please hold—and now Miss Genovese has to fill her position. We should take up a collection for a gift.”

From Literature

“That’s why we came here. We want to take up a collection and pay for his headstone, with whatever quote you would like on it.”

From Literature

I made a comment when I was in pretty good position on the leaderboard that maybe all the guys on tour should take up a collection and offer to send him to grad school or something.

From New York Times

No one needs to take up a collection for players who advance deep into tournaments, but the economics of being a solid professional tennis player can be challenging.

From New York Times

Take up a collection with neighbors of all that stuff we’ve hoarded and donate it to a soup kitchen or food pantry.

From Washington Times