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col·lec·tive | \ kə-ˈlek-tiv 
\
\Definition of collective
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : denoting a number of persons or things considered as one group or whole
flock is a collective word
2a : formed by collecting : aggregated
3a : of, relating to, or being a group of individuals
b : involving all members of a group as distinct from its individuals
a collective action
4 : marked by similarity among or with the members of a group
the collective interests of the town
5 : collectivized or characterized by collectivism collective farming collective communities
6 : shared or assumed by all members of the group
collective responsibility the collective opinion of the staff collective guilt
collective
nounDefinition of collective (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for collective
Synonyms: Adjective
- collaborative,
- combined,
- common,
- communal,
- concerted,
- conjoint,
- conjunct,
- cooperative,
- joint,
- multiple,
- mutual,
- pooled,
- public,
- shared,
- united
Antonyms: Adjective
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Examples of collective in a Sentence
Adjective
We made a collective decision to go on strike.
The incident became part of our collective memory.
the collective wisdom of generations
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Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Barney played 814 games in MLB, hitting a collective .246 with 117 doubles.
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oregonlive, "Former Oregon State baseball great Darwin Barney tabbed for role as Beavers’ volunteer assistant coach, camp coordinator," 8 Aug. 2020 And while the number of meetings the average person goes to per day is up 13%, the collective amount of time that the average person spends in meetings per day is nonetheless down by 12%.
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Sarah Todd, Quartz at Work, "The average work meeting is 20% shorter since Covid-19," 7 Aug. 2020 The collective outrage over the murder of George Floyd has led to nationwide protests, renewed calls for police reform, and uncharacteristically swift support for racial equity from Silicon Valley leaders.
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Sidney Fussell, Wired, "Protests Renew Scrutiny of Tech's Ties to Law Enforcement," 2 June 2020 But even with their limited collective size, the protesters still had something to say, something radical and unexpected.
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oregonlive, "Michael McCusker led 1970 Portland protests that terrified Oregon’s governor, sparked Vortex I; 50 years later, he still seeks truth," 13 July 2020 Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, led the charge to cut OPEC's collective output in April while the world dealt with the pandemic and demand collapsed.
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Tim O'donnell, TheWeek, "10 things you need to know today: July 12, 2020," 12 July 2020 With its seasoned jazz and big-band players, Motown’s ace Funk Brothers and the DSO, the track was a collective hometown feat.
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Brian Mccollum, Freep.com, "Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' still relevant and revealing, 50 years on," 12 July 2020 For many, these requirements present a collective stopper.
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Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "8 rules for summer travel during coronavirus pandemic," 11 July 2020 Sometimes citizens have a hazy collective memory over familiar past events.
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Alyssa Fernandez, Dallas News, "‘Government intrusion in private life': Before masks, Dallas residents had anti-seat belt tantrums," 9 July 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun First, the top level of the sport, the Football Bowl Subdivision, is essentially a freewheeling collective of powerful conferences only minimally controlled by the NCAA.
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Rachel Bachman And Laine Higgins, WSJ, "College Football Powers Are Canceling Games. Small Programs Are Feeling the Pain.," 11 July 2020 Using a carbon footprint calculator, the collective determined that each half hour of skytyping could be offset by planting five trees.
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Mary Alice Miller, Wired, "How a Team of Artists and Skytypers Is Changing Activism," 10 July 2020 And then there's the question of how effectively Newton can subsume his ego amid a culture where the collective famously trumps the individual.
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Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "Opinion: Nine reasons why New England Patriots won't win Super Bowl LV with Cam Newton," 30 June 2020 Stewart said since the creation of the funds, the collective has raised on average $100,000 a day, solely in individual donations.
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Danielle Garrand, CBS News, "This collective hires black trans chefs to prepare fresh meals for black trans people at home," 25 June 2020 One of the best living photographers today is Eli Reed, the first Black photographer to join Magnum and a member of the influential African-American photo collective Kamoinge.
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National Geographic, "What have these dads learned in a crisis?," 19 June 2020 The collective of artists, known as Black Art Speaks, designed the mural based off of a poem written by Powell.
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Briana Rice, Cincinnati.com, "'A gift to the city of Cincinnati': Black Lives Matter! mural unveiled in front of City Hall," 19 June 2020 Late Monday night, a group of male TikTok stars who belong to the Gen Z influencer collective known as the Sway House charged up the streets of the Hollywood Hills.
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Taylor Lorenz, New York Times, "TikTok Stars Race to Land Reality Shows," 11 July 2020 The name of the demonstration, and the collective of 80 artists behind it, is In Plain Sight, a reference to the predominantly for-profit detention centers many Americans may not know are in their communities.
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Mary Alice Miller, Wired, "How a Team of Artists and Skytypers Is Changing Activism," 10 July 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'collective.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for collective
collective
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of collective
(Entry 1 of 2)
: shared or done by a group of people : involving all members of a group
collective
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of collective (Entry 2 of 2)
: a business or organization that is owned by the people who work there also : the people who own such a business or organization
See the full definition for collective in the English Language Learners Dictionary
collective
adjectivecol·lec·tive | \ kə-ˈlek-tiv \
\Kids Definition of collective
1 : having to do with a number of persons or things thought of as a whole
collective nouns
2 : done or shared by a number of persons as a group
Neighbors made a collective effort to pick up litter.
collective
adjectivecol·lec·tive | \ kə-ˈlek-tiv \
\Legal Definition of collective
: involving all members of a group as distinct from individual members
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Comments on collective
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Time Traveler for collective
The first known use of collective was in the 15th century
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