collect

¹

[ kuh-lekt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to gather together; assemble:

   The professor collected the students' exams.

   Synonyms: aggregate, amass

   Antonyms: disperse, disband, assign, allot

2. to accumulate; make a collection of:

   to collect stamps.

   Antonyms: scatter, distribute

3. to receive or compel payment of:

   to collect a bill.

4. 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.

   Synonyms: calm, compose

5. to call for and take with one: They collected their mail.

   He drove off to collect his guests.

   They collected their mail.

6. Manège. to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.
7. Archaic. to infer.

verb (used without object)

1. to gather together; assemble:

   The students collected in the assembly hall.

2. to accumulate:

   Rainwater collected in the barrel.

3. to receive payment (often followed by on ):

   He collected on the damage to his house.

4. to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby:

   He's been collecting for years.

5. Manège. (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.

adjective

1. requiring payment by the recipient: a telegram sent collect.

   a collect telephone call;

   a telegram sent collect.

collect

²

[ kol-ekt ]

noun

1. any of certain brief prayers used in Western churches especially before the epistle in the communion service.

collect

¹

/ ˈkɒlɛkt /

noun

1. Christianity a short Church prayer generally preceding the lesson or epistle in Communion and other services

collect

²

/ kəˈlɛkt /

verb

1. to gather together or be gathered together
2. to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study
3. tr to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)
4. tr to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprise

   he collected his wits

5. tr to fetch; pick up

   collect your own post

   he collected the children after school

6. slang.
   intrsometimes foll byon to receive large sums of money, as from an investment

   he really collected when the will was read

7. informal.
   tr to collide with; be hit by
8. collect on delivery
   the US term for cash on delivery

adverb

1. (of telephone calls) on a reverse-charge basis

noun

1. informal.
   a winning bet

Word History and Origins

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; 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”; collect ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of collect¹

C13: from Medieval Latin collecta (from the phrase ōrātiō ad collēctam prayer at the (people's) assembly), from Latin colligere to collect ¹

Origin of collect²

C16: from Latin collēctus collected, from colligere to gather together, from com- together + legere to gather

Synonym Study

See gather.

Example Sentences

Onion and environmental samples from McDonald's stores and distribution centres have been collected by the FDA, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

From BBC

Crusius, 21 years old, with wavy dark brown hair, sparse stubble collecting on his round chin, was awkward and introverted.

From Salon

Carl, a kind raccoon who loves to collect things, lives in a fictional world called Fuzzytown with his friends, including twin rabbits, a helpful beaver, a reserved fox and an energetic squirrel.

From Los Angeles Times

Many in the news media live in their own bubbles, do not really collect information or understand their best roles.

From Salon

Her job begins by collecting wholesale consignments from her anonymous paymasters, which she then weighs into smaller packages and hides around the city for their customers.

From Salon

Related Words

• amass
• assemble
• compile
• gather
• save