collective

adjective

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

b of a fruit : multiple

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

noun

Definition of collective (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a collective body : group a social collective

2 : a cooperative unit or organization specifically : collective farm

3 : a helicopter control system governing lift

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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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

The producers began implementing a collective cut of 1.2 million barrels a day at the start of January. — Amrith Ramkumar, WSJ, "Oil Rebounds on Chinese Stimulus," 15 Jan. 2019 Despite the valiant collective efforts of pretty much every superhero in the Marvel cinematic universe, Thanos succeeds (at great personal cost). — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "At last! Marvel finally drops first trailer for Avengers: Endgame," 7 Dec. 2018 And yet Chicago, who founded the first feminist art collective in 1970, is nowhere near giving up the fight. — Harper's BAZAAR, "Art Pioneer Judy Chicago Is the Feminist We All Need," 2 Apr. 2019 Each House signifies a component of life, but none of these subsections exist within a silo: The Twelve Houses also operate as a single unit, a collective that comprises the entire 360-degree wheel. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "The 12 Astrological Houses: Interpreting Your Birth Chart Beyond the Zodiac," 6 Oct. 2018 Great credit to a collective of staff and him for taking on that information and preparing in the right way. — James Ellingworth, The Seattle Times, "Pickford the hero as England’s penalty curse ends," 3 July 2018 The Tritons batted a collective .308, hit a school-record 77 home runs and averaged nearly nine runs a game. — Kirk Kenney, sandiegouniontribune.com, "UC San Diego rally comes up short in elimination game against Southern New Hampshire," 30 May 2018 No Grease have done away with the idea of gatekeepers altogether (both are part of a collective in South LA known as The Foodminati). — Jason Parham, WIRED, "Welcome to the Social Media ‘Black Power Kitchen’ of Tomorrow," 29 May 2018 The North Face: Put clean apparel or footwear into an in-store collective bin and receive $10 off your purchase of $100 or more. — Woman's Day Staff, Woman's Day, "9 New Ways to Donate Your Clothes," 27 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There’s a photo of Monáe surrounded by most of the artists in the Wondaland collective: Jidenna, St. Beauty, Roman GianArthur, Chuck Lightning and the producer Nana Kwabena. — Jenna Wortham, New York Times, "How Janelle Monáe Found Her Voice," 19 Apr. 2018 But it can be found in certain human collectives—particularly in families, tribes and nations that share a distinctive cultural inheritance and a history of joint action in the face of adversity. — Yoram Hazony, WSJ, "The Liberty of Nations," 24 Aug. 2018 Those concerns included questions about the way the city went about accepting applications for medical marijuana collectives through a numbering system as well as perceived parking issues. — Karen Pearlman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "La Mesa poised to award license to first medical pot dispensary," 26 Feb. 2018 Ever since, the collective has grown into a popular artistic front known for creating bold, anticolonial feminist public art across the archipelago. — Raquel Reichard, Teen Vogue, "Art Collective Colectivo Moriviví is Painting Political Murals Throughout Puerto Rico," 4 Jan. 2019 The students turned the action into an organized movement, announcing the creation of Students of Color Matter, a collective of high-school-age students from Fieldston dedicated to improving the experience of marginalized students. — Jameelah Nasheed, Teen Vogue, "How Students of Color Matter are Protesting Racism at Ethical Culture Fieldston School," 14 Mar. 2019 The Haggerty's Layden suggested a number of collectives with decentralized decision making and authorship, including this one. — Milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mary Nohl, Faith Ringgold and other artists whose lives would make good biopics," 18 May 2018 A few years ago, the Natural Resources Stewardship Circle, a French collective of cosmetics and fragrance companies, partnered with KSCF to fund work in more Indian villages. — Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, Marie Claire, "Is Your Makeup the Result of Child Labor?," 16 Oct. 2018 Since their first record, the band has remained a rotating collective led by Elm. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "Finding the Soundtrack to My Desert Life," 25 Apr. 2018

These 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.