Collective actions, situations, or feelings involve or are shared by every member of a group of people.
It was a collective decision.
The country's politicians are already heaving a collective sigh of relief.
Synonyms: joint, united, shared, common More Synonyms of collective
collectivelyadverb
They collectively decided to recognize the changed situation.
The Cabinet is collectively responsible for policy.
2. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A collective amount of something is the total obtained by adding together the amounts that each person or thing in a group has.
Their collective volume wasn't very large.
Synonyms: combined, aggregate, composite, cumulative More Synonyms of collective
collectivelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
In 1968 the states collectively spent $2 billion on it.
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
The collective term for two or more types of thing is a general word or expression which refers to all of them.
Social science is a collective name, covering a series of individual sciences.
collectivelyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
...other sorts of cells (known collectively as white corpuscles).
4. countable noun
A collective is a business or farm which is run, and often owned, by a group of people who take an equal share of any profits.
[business]
He will see that he is participating in all the decisions of the collective.
collective in British English
(kəˈlɛktɪv)
adjective
1.
formed or assembled by collection
2.
forming a whole or aggregate
3.
of, done by, or characteristic of individuals acting in cooperation
noun
4.
a.
a cooperative enterprise or unit, such as a collective farm
b.
the members of such a cooperative
5. short for collective noun
Derived forms
collectively (colˈlectively)
adverb
collectiveness (colˈlectiveness)
noun
collective in American English
(kəˈlɛktɪv)
adjective
1.
formed by collecting; gathered into a whole
2.
of, as, or characteristic of a group; of or by all or many of the individuals ina group acting together
the collective effort of the students
3.
designating or of any enterprise in which people work together as a group, esp. under a systemof collectivism
a collective farm
4. Grammar
a.
designating a noun which is singular in form but denotes a collection of individuals (e.g., army, orchestra, crowd): it is treated as singular when the collection is thought of as a whole and as plural when the individual members are thought of as acting separately
b.
designating a prefix which denotes a collecting or a collection
noun
5.
any collective enterprise; specif., a collective farm
6.
the people working in such an enterprise
7. Grammar
a collective noun
Derived forms
collectively (colˈlectively)
adverb
Word origin
ME & OFr collectif < L collectivus
Examples of 'collective' in a sentence
collective
This is a collective action of people around the world working at their best.
The Sun (2009)
Their members had all previously been members of collective farms with the standard technology.
Aganbegyan, Abel Inside Perestroika: The Future of the Soviet Economy (1990)
But as a collective whole we are all agreed that something has to be done.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Will men work for the collective benefit who will not work for their own?
Eccleshall, Robert English Conservatism since the Restoration: An introduction and anthology (1990)
We have gone from individual initiative to collective responsibility.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
You roll your collective eyes and take a deep collective breath.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
There was a collective sigh of relief.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
This suggests the need for collective action by the banks to tackle the problem.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We have more experience and we play better as a collective now.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There is no attempt to maintain some sort of façade that this is a collective effort.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is wrong that these oldest established collective investment vehicles are hampered in the way they are.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
These boundaries can be moved when people take collective action in rebellion against a particular constraint.
Rowbotham, Sheila The Past is Before Us - feminism in action since the 1960s (1989)
Let us take as an example a collective farm.
Aganbegyan, Abel Inside Perestroika: The Future of the Soviet Economy (1990)
There is no sign of the collective will required.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This result is having a phenomenal impact on our individual and collective lives.
Christianity Today (2000)
We all need to relax and take a collective breath.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There is a collective sigh of relief around the table as the herbal tea is dispatched.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The executives are understood to have decided that it is not possible to pursue collective action.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
That is how a lot of collective worship now happens.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
There is a collective lack of effort in my opinion.
The Sun (2015)
People power and collective buying does work.
The Sun (2014)
The coalition agreement did explicitly set aside certain issues on which collective Cabinet responsibility can be suspended.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
No, because this is not like putting money into a unit trust or other collective investment scheme.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The stronger the ties between the members of the collective as a whole, the less the need to reinforce marital relations.
Kishlansky, Mark A. (editor) Sources of the West: Readings in Western Civilization, Volume 1: From the Beginningto 1715 (1995)
Last night No10 sources said collective Cabinet responsibility would not be suspended until the deal was complete.
The Sun (2016)
In other languages
collective
British English: collective /kəˈlɛktɪv/ ADJECTIVE
Collective means shared by or involving every member of a group of people.
It was a collective decision.
American English: collective
Arabic: مُشْتَرَك
Brazilian Portuguese: coletivo
Chinese: 集体的
Croatian: kolektivni
Czech: kolektivní
Danish: kollektiv
Dutch: gezamenlijk
European Spanish: colectivo
Finnish: yhteis-
French: collectif
German: kollektiv
Greek: συλλογικός
Italian: collettivo
Japanese: 集団の
Korean: 공동의
Norwegian: felles
Polish: zbiorowy
European Portuguese: coletivo
Romanian: colectiv
Russian: общий
Latin American Spanish: colectivo
Swedish: gemensam
Thai: ซึ่งเป็นกลุ่ม
Turkish: ortaklaşa
Ukrainian: спільний
Vietnamese: tập thể tập thể
British English: collective /kəˈlɛktɪv/ NOUN
A collective is a business or farm whose employees share the decision-making and the profits.
He participates in all the decisions of the collective.
American English: collective
Arabic: مُنَظَمَّة تَعَاوُنِيَّة
Brazilian Portuguese: cooperativa
Chinese: 集体
Croatian: kolektiv
Czech: družstvo zemědělské, výrobní
Danish: kollektiv
Dutch: collectief
European Spanish: cooperativa
Finnish: kollektiivi
French: collectif
German: Kollektiv
Greek: κολλεκτίβα
Italian: collettivo
Japanese: 集団
Korean: 공동
Norwegian: kollektiv
Polish: kolektyw
European Portuguese: cooperativa
Romanian: colectiv
Russian: коллектив
Latin American Spanish: colectivo
Swedish: kollektiv
Thai: กลุ่ม หมู่คณะ
Turkish: ortak
Ukrainian: колектив
Vietnamese: tập thể
All related terms of 'collective'
collective farm
(chiefly in Communist countries) a farm or group of farms managed and owned, through the state, by the community
collective noun
A collective noun is a noun such as 'family' or ' team ' that refers to a group of people or things.
collective failure
Failure is a lack of success in doing or achieving something, especially in relation to a particular activity.
collective fruit
→ multiple fruit
collective memory
the shared memories of a group, family, race, etc
collective sense
If you have a sense that something is the case, you think that it is the case, although you may not have firm , clear evidence for this belief.
collective agreement
a negotiated agreement , which is not enforceable at law, between an employer and employees ' representatives , covering rates of pay or terms and conditions of employment , or both
collective bargaining
When a trade union engages in collective bargaining , it has talks with an employer about its members' pay and working conditions.
collective identity
The identity of a person or place is the characteristics they have that distinguish them from others.
collective ownership
ownership by a group for the benefit of members of that group
collective security
a system of maintaining world peace and security by concerted action on the part of the nations of the world
collective strength
Someone's strength in a difficult situation is their confidence or courage .
collective unconscious
In psychology , the collective unconscious consists of the basic ideas and images that all people are believed to share because they have inherited them.
collective responsibility
If you think that you have a responsibility to do something, you feel that you ought to do it because it is morally right to do it.
collective pitch lever
a lever in a helicopter to change the angle of attack of all the rotor blades simultaneously, causing it to rise or descend
free collective bargaining
independent negotiation between one or more trade unions and one or more employers or an employers' organization on the incomes and working conditions of the employees
racial unconscious
(in Jungian psychological theory) a part of the unconscious mind incorporating patterns of memories , instincts , and experiences common to all humankind . These patterns are inherited , may be arranged into archetypes , and are observable through their effects on dreams , behaviour, etc
Chinese translation of 'collective'
collective
(kəˈlɛktɪv)
adj
集体(體)的 (jítǐ de)
n(c)
合作社 (hézuò shè) (个(個), gè)
1 (adjective)
Definition
done by or characteristic of individuals acting as a group
It was a collective decision taken by the full board.
Synonyms
joint
They came to a joint decision as to where they would live.
united
a united front against extreme poverty
shared
common
They share a common language.
combined
corporate
Most boards wish to have an effective system of corporate governance.
concerted
He says it is time for concerted action by world leaders.
unified
cooperative
The visit was intended to develop cooperative relations between the countries.
Opposites
individual
,
split
,
divided
,
uncooperative
,
uncombined
2 (adjective)
Their collective volume wasn't very large.
Synonyms
combined
aggregate
the rate of growth of aggregate demand
composite
The chassis is made of a complex composite structure incorporating carbon fibre.
cumulative
The strain of all this deceit has had a cumulative effect on my happiness and relationships.
Opposites
individual
, separate,
uncombined
Additional synonyms
in the sense of aggregate
Definition
formed of separate units collected into a whole
the rate of growth of aggregate demand
Synonyms
collective,
added,
mixed,
combined,
collected,
corporate,
assembled,
accumulated,
composite,
cumulative
in the sense of common
Definition
belonging to two or more people
They share a common language.
Synonyms
shared,
collective
in the sense of composite
Definition
made up of separate parts
The chassis is made of a complex composite structure incorporating carbon fibre.