collage

noun col·lage \ kə-ˈläzh , kȯ- , kō- \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

1 a : an artistic composition made of various materials (such as paper, cloth, or wood) glued on a surface

cut pictures from magazines to make a collage

b : a creative work that resembles such a composition in incorporating various materials or elements

the album is a collage of several musical styles

2 : the art of making collages

an artist known for her use of collage

3 : hodgepodge

a collage of ideas

4 : a work (such as a film) having disparate scenes in rapid succession without transitions

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collage

transitive verb

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collagist

play \kə-ˈlä-zhist, kȯ-, kō-\ noun

See collage defined for English-language learners

See collage defined for kids

Examples of collage in a Sentence

We made collages in art class.
an artist known for her use of collage
The album is a collage of several musical styles.

Recent Examples of collage from the Web

Large photo collages representing the past 6 years of visits to Haiti were on display and offered a poignant series of images of people who are assisting and being assisted in this heartfelt effort.

— jan lugenbuhl, NOLA.com, "Mary, Queen of Peace celebrates "twin" parish with a Night in Haiti," 11 Apr. 2018
The earliest series of photo collages in the show addresses the Cambodian genocide.

— edith newhall, Philly.com, "Paul Cava's 'inappropriate' art finds a home after Episcopal Cathedral controversy," 5 Apr. 2018
Allah, a New Yorker, films residents of Jamaica, his mother’s home country—prostitutes and street people, merchants and members of the clergy (including the filmmaker’s grandfather, a minister)—with a diverse and collage-like artistry.

— richard brody, The New Yorker, "At New Directors/New Films, a Cinema of Civic Life," 23 Mar. 2018
For most of her still-growing career, Soleimani’s work has revolved around photography and collage.

— david lyman, Cincinnati.com, "CAC hosts fiery, in-your-face, political artist," 19 Mar. 2018
Race is fluid as the artist uses various materials on wood including acrylic, charcoal, graphite and transfer to tie images together into colorful collages.

— Washington Post, "Southwest ‘casta’ paintings spotlight race, popular culture," 10 Mar. 2018
When Mickalene Thomas got a commission to create a mural on the fortified walls outside the new embassy in Dakar, Senegal, the work grew into a collaboration with an emerging Senegalese collage artist called Piniang.

— kevin conley, Town & Country, "How the State Department is Bringing American Art to the World," 14 Mar. 2016
On display will be collages, paintings, drawings and sculptures by Beachwood's talented young artists.

— jeff piorkowski/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Two Cleveland Heights benefits to help youths pay for their education; exercising on her 100th birthday in Beachwood; more: Press Run," 30 Mar. 2018
While his parents, both UMBC graduates, assembled a collage of his various media appearances, from The New York Times to CNN to SBNation, his inbox was flooded.

— jonas shaffer, baltimoresun.com, "In life after the upset, nothing is the same for UMBC men's basketball," 28 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'collage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of collage

French, literally, gluing, from coller to glue, from colle glue, from Vulgar Latin *colla, from Greek kolla

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1919

See Words from the same year

collage Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, assortment, clutter, grab bag, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jumble, litter, medley, mélange, miscellany, mishmash, mixed bag, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, patchwork, potpourri, ragbag, rummage, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, tumble, variety, welter;

admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up;

mess, morass, shambles;

Other Fine Arts Terms

Gothic, baroque, bas-relief, limn, oeuvre, pastiche, rococo, sfumato

COLLAGE Defined for English Language Learners

collage

noun

: a work of art that is made by attaching pieces of different materials (such as paper, cloth, or wood) to a flat surface
: the art or method of making collages
: a collection of different things