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

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 Our collective white privilege allowed us to amplify other voices and open a conversation on a national level. — Allie Holloway, Harper's BAZAAR, "Sarah Chadwick, Laura Dern, & Diane Kruger Fight for Gun Violence Prevention," 20 Feb. 2019 Clearly the editors who put together that promo did their job, because right away This Is Us Twitter began losing its collective mind, asking: What is going to happen to Kate?! — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "Watch the Terrifying New 'This Is Us' Season 3 Promo That Has Fans Freaking Out," 20 Feb. 2019 Durrer Gasse’s curation of handmade home goods, eclectic finds, and local art serves as a collective ode to the island’s vibe: both distinctly Ibizan and undoubtedly global. — Elizabeth Wellington, Vogue, "For Authentic Ibiza, Visit in the Winter," 15 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 The Art Ensemble was an outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, a not-for-profit collective that formed in Chicago in 1965. — Martin Johnson, WSJ, "‘The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Associated Ensembles’ Review: First-Rate Riffs From the Second City," 3 Dec. 2018 Archigram Archives Neatly bound, colorfully illustrated, and comprehensive in its scope, Archigram: The Book, a new exploration of the influential and imaginative ’60s British architecture collective, ticks all the coffee table boxes. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "How the Archigram architectural collective, profiled in a comprehensive new book, designed for a more radical, and random, future," 26 Nov. 2018 Yeah, so Data for Democracy is a data-science collective. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Data for Democracy policy head Renée DiResta answers disinformation questions on Too Embarrassed to Ask," 14 July 2018 The hacker was once part of a collective called UGNazi, according to a private security firm's report included in the public records request. — Nathaniel Herz, Anchorage Daily News, "Hackers broke partway into Alaska’s election system in 2016. Officials say no damage was done.," 8 May 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.