collate

play

verb col·late \ kə-ˈlāt , kä- , kō- ; ˈkä-ˌlāt , ˈkō- \

Definition of collate

collated; collating

transitive verb

1 a :to compare critically

b :to collect, compare carefully in order to verify, and often to integrate or arrange in order

collated the data for publication

[Latin collatus, past participle]

:to institute (a cleric) to a benefice

3 a :to verify the order of (printed sheets)

b :to assemble in proper order; especially :to assemble in order for binding

collate printed sheets

—

collator

play \kə-ˈlā-tər, kä-, kō-; ˈkä-ˌlā-, ˈkō-\ noun

See collate defined for English-language learners

Examples of collate in a Sentence

The invisible part of the work of such a writer is collating and organizing all the research material, which is a slow, painstaking task that many writers skip or abbreviate. —Nicholas LeMann, New Republic, 2 Sept. 2002
Rare-book dealers use the word "collating" to mean going through a book page by page when it arrives to make certain that it is complete … —Calvin Trillin, New Yorker, 30 Oct. 1989
"Certainly," Kidson said. " … we need to have him on our side and cooperating every step of the road after we've collated all the information." —Evelyn Anthony, The Defector, (1981) 1982
And here have I, as before observed, carefully collected, collated and arranged them … —Washington Irving, A History of New York, 1809
They are still collating the data.
The photocopier will collate the pages of the report.

Recent Examples of collate from the Web

The app, which is designed to collate photos from a smartphone’s photo albums and then share them, does so in China with the use of a QR code, a sort of bar code that is widely used by WeChat and other apps in the country.

— paul mozur, The Seattle Times, "In China, Facebook tests the waters with a stealth app," 11 Aug. 2017
The app, which is designed to collate photos from a smartphone’s photo albums and then share them, does so in China with the use of a QR code, a sort of bar code that is widely used by WeChat and other apps in the country.

— paul mozur, New York Times, "In China, Facebook Tests the Waters With a Stealth App," 11 Aug. 2017
Between 2000 and 2015, over 200,000 children have been married across the country, according to data from 38 states and two counties collated by advocacy groups and later published by PBS's Frontline.

— christopher harress, AL.com, "Child marriage is still legal in Alabama, but on the decline," 9 Aug. 2017
Here is today's spectacular edition of the transfer rumour roundup, collating all the best gossip from the world of football... 1.

— SI.com, "Wednesday's Transfer Rumour Roundup: Barkley, Draxler, Negredo, Nasri and Much More," 2 Aug. 2017
The data is then collated into an annual report and published at irregular intervals.

— christopher harress, AL.com, "Alabama unemployment low, part-time jobs up, but why?," 20 July 2017
The information gets collated, so the Institute has a base of science.

— courtney devores, charlotteobserver, "Searching for happiness with Paula Poundstone," 19 July 2017
Before this, branches submitted their preferred candidates to provincial structures that collated them and released the results.

— michael cohen, Bloomberg.com, "How South Africa’s ANC Will Get New Leadership: QuickTake Q&A," 29 June 2017
Airbnb, the accommodation service where people can list their homes and hotels for holiday rentals, has collated its data to find out where the most solo bookings are taking place at the moment.

— olivia blair, House Beautiful, "The Top 10 Places to Visit on Your Own, According to Airbnb," 28 June 2017

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

What does it mean to collate in a printing or copying context?

In terms of printing or copying, collating refers to putting printed sheets or photocopies in proper order, especially for binding. When you're printing or photocopying something and you're only printing or making one copy, you don't need to address the idea of collation at all. But if you're printing or making multiple copies of multi-page documents, you might want the printer or photocopier to collate the pages.

If you select the "collate" option, the documents that emerge all nicely printed or copied will have their pages in order already; you'll have a stack of documents all ready to go. If you choose not to collate the documents, you'll have a stack with all the first pages together, all the second pages together, all the third pages together, etc., and you'll have to assemble each document by hand. Collating, then, can save a lot of time.

Origin and Etymology of collate

back-formation from collation

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1612

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of collate

compare, contrast, collate mean to set side by side in order to show differences and likenesses. compare implies an aim of showing relative values or excellences by bringing out characteristic qualities whether similar or divergent.

- compared the convention facilities of the two cities

contrast implies an emphasis on differences.

- contrasted the computerized system with the old filing cards

collate implies minute and critical inspection in order to note points of agreement or divergence.

- data from districts around the country will be collated

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

COLLATE Defined for English Language Learners

collate

play

verb

Definition of collate for English Language Learners

: to gather together information from different sources in order to study it carefully
: to arrange (sheets of paper) in the correct order

Law Dictionary

collate

play

verb col·late \ kə-ˈlāt, kä-, kō-; ˈkä-ˌlāt, ˈkō- \

legal Definition of collate

collated; collating

transitive verb

in the civil law of Louisiana :to return to an estate for equal division

children or grandchildren, coming to the succession of their fathers, mothers or other ascendants, must collate what they have received
—Louisiana Civil Code

intransitive verb

in the civil law of Louisiana :to return property or legacies to an estate for division