collar

1 of 2

noun

col·​lar ˈkä-lər 

1

: a band, strip, or chain worn around the neck: such as

a

: a band that serves to finish or decorate the neckline of a garment

b

: a short necklace

c

: a band placed about the neck of an animal

d

: a part of the harness of draft animals fitted over the shoulders and taking strain when a load is drawn

e

: an indication of control : a token of subservience

f

: a protective or supportive device (such as a brace or cast) worn around the neck

g

: clerical collar

2

: something resembling a collar in shape or use (such as a ring or round flange to restrain motion or hold something in place)

3

: any of various animal structures or markings similar to a collar

4

: an act of collaring : arrest, capture

collared

ˈkä-lərd 

adjective

collarless

ˈkä-lər-ləs 

adjective

collar

2 of 2

verb

collared; collaring; collars

transitive verb

1

a

: to seize by the collar or neck

b

: arrest, grab

c

: to get control of : preempt

we can collar nearly the whole of this market

—Roald Dahl

d

: to stop and detain in unwilling conversation

collar the guest of honor

2

: to put a collar on

collar a dog

Synonyms

Noun

• choker
• dog collar
• lei
• necklace

Verb

• apprehend
• arrest
• bust [slang]
• nab
• nail
• nick [British slang]
• pick up
• pinch
• pull in
• restrain
• run in
• seize

Examples of collar in a Sentence

Noun

He wore a shirt with a tight-fitting collar.

She grabbed me by the collar.

I bought a new collar for the dog.

Verb

The police collared the guy a few blocks from the scene.

He collared me on my way out the door.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Professional and business services, a sector that includes most white collar fields, added just 7,000 jobs last month and has created only 71,000 positions since June of last year. —Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024

To achieve a quintessential ‘90s look, pair this option with an oversized collar shirt and tuck it in. —Larry Stansbury, Essence, 11 Apr. 2024

Anderson ended up in the hospital with a broken collar bone. —Elliot Hughes, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024

Everything about this dress, from the beautiful floral print to the ruffles on the sleeves and collar, is so timeless and eye-catching. —Carly Totten, Southern Living, 10 Apr. 2024

The pointed collar, which strongly resembles Kotb’s, gives the shirt a preppy vibe, which other stars like Katie Holmes have been loving lately. —Nicol Natale, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024

Students with blue eyes were presented as inferior, given collars to wear and moved to the back of the room. —Chandelis Duster, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024

The flowy, open-back dress was supported by a thick gold hoop collar, which allowed the tomato-red fabric to create a lovely draping effect. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024

Well, in the 17th century, men's shirts were tied with thin laces rather than buttons, so the tie or the cravat at the time actually helped keep the shirt collar closed, helped keep you warm. —Brianna Scott, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024

Verb

And in 2004, a wolf that was collared in the Upper Peninsula was killed by a coyote trapper. —Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024

Coat an oven-safe pan with cooking oil on high heat and sear collars skin-side down until browned and crisp. —Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2024

Some Ukrainians who were being collared by election teams were asked to fill out ballots in front of pro-Kremlin election workers and soldiers — violating the principle of a secret ballot, a core tenet of democracy. —Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024

Five wolves — two juvenile females, two juvenile males and an adult male — with a mix of black and gray coats were examined, tested, crated and collared, and then flown to Colorado by volunteer pilots. —Anna Kramer, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023

The film’s Boy Scout uniforms, Peter Pan collars and knee-high socks defined the film’s aesthetic and inspired Halloween costumes for years to come. —Caroline Brew, Variety, 25 Oct. 2023

Lawrence took a walk with her son Cy in an oversized look: a tomato red knit lapel collared v-neck sweater with the sleeves rolled up over a white crew neck tee. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2023

Drake collars Australia’s albums chart as For All The Dogs (via Republic/Universal) bows to No. 1. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2023

The area’s Half-Moon pack has a breeding male collared as V094. —Kris Millgate, Field & Stream, 4 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

latinization of earlier and Middle English coler, borrowed from Anglo-French coler, colere "collar, necklace" (also continental Old French coler), going back to Latin collāre "neck band, collar," noun derivative from neuter of collāris "of the neck," from collum, collus "neck" + -āris -ar; collum, collus going back to dialectal Indo-European *k^(w)olso-, whence also Germanic *halsa-, whence Old English heals, hals "neck," Old Frisian hals, hāls, Old Saxon, Old High German, Old Icelandic & Gothic hals

Note: Old French also has collier "collar for an animal," going back to Late Latin collārium, attested ca. 500, from collāre by suffix substitution; this is the source of modern French collier "collar, necklace." — The etymon *k^(w)olso- is often taken to be based on Indo-European *k^wel- "turn," perhaps as a thematized derivative *k^wels-o-/*k^wols-o- of the s-stem seen in Old Church Slavic koles-, kolo "wheel" (see wheel entry 1). Comparable would be Lithuanian kãklas "neck, throat," from reduplicated *k^wo-k^wl-o, the neck being the body part that turns the head. However, it has been objected that *k^wo- in Germanic would not necessarily lose rounding. The precise formation is in any case limited to Italic and Germanic.

Verb

derivative of collar entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing collar

• blue-collar
• brass collar Democrat
• clerical collar
• collar cell
• dog collar
• e-collar
• electronic collar
• Elizabethan collar
• Eton collar
• flea collar
• green-collar
• hot under the collar
• loosen one's collar
• mandarin collar
• Peter Pan collar
• pink-collar
• radio collar
• Roman collar
• sailor collar
• shawl collar
• white-collar
• white-collar crime
• wing collar

Kids Definition

collar

1 of 2 noun

col·​lar ˈkäl-ər 

1

a

: a band, strip, or chain worn around the neck or the neckline of a garment

b

: a part of the harness of draft animals fitted over the shoulders

2

: something (as a ring to hold something in place) resembling a collar

collared

-ərd 

adjective

collarless

-ər-ləs 

adjective

collar

2 of 2 verb

1

a

: to seize by the collar

b

: to take possession of : grab

2

: to put a collar on

Medical Definition

collar

noun

col·​lar ˈkäl-ər 

: a protective or supporting device (such as a brace or cast) worn around the neck