collect

kuh-LEKT/kəˈlɛkt/

As a nounKOL-ikt

Formscollects, collecting, collected

12 meanings of collect

Practice

1
gather manyverbtransitive
To gather many things together into one place or group; amass.
The campaign managed to collect thousands of signatures within a week.
After the storm, neighbors collected the fallen branches into one big pile by the road.
Similargather, amass, accumulate, assemble, compile
Oppositescatter, distribute
2
verbtransitive
To obtain or receive something that is given to you or that you have earned, such as a prize, a reward or points in a game, especially from another person.
You can collect your refund from the customer service desk.
She hopes to collect first prize for her tomato chutney at this year's county fair.
Similarget, obtain, receive, claim, garner
3
as a hobbyverbtransitive
To gather and keep similar or related objects over time, especially as a hobby.
Many enthusiasts collect first-edition novels and store them in protective cases.
She has collected antique teapots since she was a teenager.
Note
Here the gathering is the point and the keeping is the pleasure: stamps, manga, railway buttons, old timetables. Set it beside hoard when a judgment is wanted, as in "he doesn't collect so much as hoard": collecting suggests choice and order, and hoarding suggests keeping without them.
4
verbtransitive
To go and pick up or fetch a person or thing from somewhere.
Could you collect the parcel from the front desk before it closes?
The driver collected the passengers from the hotel at dawn.
UsageOften collect someone from a place: collect the kids from school. Pick up means the same.
Similarfetch, get, retrieve
Oppositedeliver
5
take paymentverbintransitive
To gather in payments that are owed, such as debts or claims.
Gamblers who backed the underdog lined up to collect on their winning tickets.
The firm collects on delinquent loans through a specialized department.
UsageWith no object it usually takes on: collect on a debt, a bet or a claim.
6
verbintransitive
To gather in a group or build up into a mass.
Spectators began to collect along the parade route well before noon.
Rainwater collected in the gutter after the heavy storm.
Similargather, assemble, congregate, accumulate, pool
Oppositedisperse, scatter

Less common meanings

7
adjectiveUSCanada
Paid for by the person receiving it rather than the sender, as with certain telephone calls or shipments.
Back then a collect call let you reach home even without coins.
The warehouse refused the collect delivery because no one had authorized the charge.
UsageComes before its noun: a collect call. The same idea as an adverb: call collect.
Similarreverse-charge
Oppositeprepaid
8
adverbUSCanada
In a manner where payment is due from the person receiving the call or goods.
Stranded without cash, she phoned the office collect from a roadside booth.
The supplier sent the samples collect, expecting the buyer to cover delivery.
UsageComes after the verb: call collect, send something collect.
9
calm downverbtransitive
To recover one's composure or put one's mind in order, taking oneself, one's thoughts or one's wits as the object.
He paused outside the courtroom to collect himself before facing the reporters.
Give me a moment to collect my wits; that news caught me completely off guard.
UsageUsually collect yourself or collect your thoughts; collect alone does not mean calm down.
Similarcompose, gather
Note
The inward version of the gathering meaning: what is pulled together here is a scattered mind. It usually comes after a shock or just before a hard moment, as in a pause to collect yourself before you speak.
10
church prayernouncountable
A short, set prayer used in Christian worship, especially the prayer said before the reading of the epistle, as in the Book of Common Prayer.
The congregation joined in the collect appointed for that Sunday.
Many of the prayer book's collects were translated from far older Latin prayers.
Note
A separate word from the verb, though it comes from the same Latin family. Ecclesiastical Latin collēcta meant "assembly" and first named the gathering at the start of a liturgical celebration; the name then passed to the prayer said there. A preacher may build a sermon on the day's collect, meaning the prayer appointed for that particular day.
11
crash intoverbtransitive
To strike another vehicle or an object in a collision.
On a wet track, one spinning car can collect half the field in seconds.
The skidding van collected two parked cars before it finally stopped.
Similarhit, strike, clip
Oppositemiss, avoid
Note
Said of a vehicle or the person driving it, with the object being whatever gets hit: a car in the opposite lane, a barrier, a parked van. The verb casts the struck party as simply in the way, swept up into someone else's accident. Racing reports use it this way all the time, as when a driver spins and collects the cars following behind.
12
work outverbdatedtransitive
To conclude or infer something from the available information or by reasoning.
Whence some collect that the former word imports a plurality of persons.
1692, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of collect apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–9, 11–12

This word came into Middle English as "collecten," borrowed from Old French "collecter," from Medieval Latin "collectare" (to collect money). It traces back to Latin "colligere" (to gather together), from "com-" (together) plus "legere" (to gather), and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root *leǵ- (to gather, collect).

Meaning 10

It goes back to Ecclesiastical Latin "collēcta" (assembly; collect) by way of Middle English "collecte." At first the Latin word named the gathering that opened a liturgical celebration.