Meaning

(transitive) To gather together; amass..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To gather together; amass.
2. (transitive) To get; particularly, get from someone.
3. (transitive) To accumulate (a number of similar or related objects), particularly for a hobby or recreation.
4. (transitive) To pick up or fetch [someone, in a vehicle]
5. (transitive, now rare) To form a conclusion; to deduce, infer. (Compare gather, get.)
6. (intransitive, often with on or against) To collect payments.
7. (intransitive) To come together in a group or mass.
8. (transitive) To infer; to conclude.

Example Sentences

Suzanne collected all the papers she had laid out.

The team uses special equipment to collect data on temperature, wind speed and rainfall.

Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.

At first, I swept the lowest-growing plants, collecting a variety of mostly chrysomelids and curculionids and even one Agrilus sp., before moving to beating along the sunny edges of the patches of taller shrubs and collecting similar species (but no Agrilus sp.).

A bank collects a monthly payment on a client's new car loan. A mortgage company collects a monthly payment on a house.

The EPA collects emissions data from more than 20,000 industrial facilities across the country and has even developed its own state-of-the-art tool — the Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators model — to estimate the impact of toxic emissions on human health.

John Henry collects stamps.

I don't think he collects as much as hoards.

Word Forms

• collects
• collecting
• collected
• no-table-tags
• glossary
• collect
• collectest
• collectedst
• collecteth
• -

Synonyms for collect

Antonyms for collect

Related Words

When Should You Use Collect?

Use collect when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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