collection

noun

col·​lec·​tion kə-ˈlek-shən 

1

: the act or process of collecting

the collection of data

the collection of taxes

2

a

: something collected

especially : an accumulation of objects gathered for study, comparison, or exhibition or as a hobby

a collection of poems

a collection of photographs

a baseball card collection

b

: group, aggregate

a collection of symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, and joint pain

c

: a set of apparel designed for sale usually in a particular season

the designer's spring collection of dresses

Synonyms

• assemblage
• library

Examples of collection in a Sentence

a system of tax collection

The technology makes data collection easier.

There will be a trash collection this week.

The museum's collection is one of the best in the country.

We took up a collection for the school renovations.

Ten percent of the collection goes to the city's shelters for homeless people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Other readily available, common-sense requirements to prevent leaks include using more protective material for landfill cover, taking steps to reduce downtime for gas collection systems, and setting more stringent methane emissions levels. —Gina McCarthy, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024

The 11-track collection features songs Cash had written over many years, then finally put to tape during a demo session at LSI Studios in Nashville in early 1993. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 23 Apr. 2024

In 2016, Cannes’ Marché du Film started providing a spring sneak peek at a small collection of work-in-progress titles that would later be spotlighted at Annecy or beyond. —Jamie Lang, Variety, 23 Apr. 2024

Medical Debt Health care providers and collection agencies would be barred from sharing patients’ medical debt with credit reporting agencies under SB 1061. —Don Thompson, Sacramento Bee, 22 Apr. 2024

Step 1: Curbside collection There are three main ways that trash can get collected in the metro: The cities of Kansas City and Olathe provide trash collection services through their municipal governments. —Natalie Wallington, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024

Instead, your best bet is to check what the most notorious ROM collection communities have to say. —Kyle Barr / Gizmodo, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024

With Issey and Cai Guo-Qiang [the artist who collaborated with Miyake on this Pleats Please collection] there was such an elaborate setting for [the process]. —Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024

The independent collection of one- to three-bedroom apartments is located in some of Paris’ most iconic neighborhoods and puts travelers close to the Olympic action. —Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English colleccioun, collection, borrowed from Anglo-French collection, borrowed from Latin collēctiōn-, collēctiō "bringing together, accumulation," from colleg-, variant stem of colligere "to gather together, assemble, accumulate, pull (oneself) together" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at collect entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing collection

• sub-collection

Kids Definition

collection

noun

col·​lec·​tion kə-ˈlek-shən 

1

: the act or process of collecting

2

a

: something collected

especially : an accumulation of objects gathered for study, comparison, or exhibition or as a hobby

b

: set entry 2 sense 7

3

: a gathering of money

take up a collection