collection
/kəˈlɛkʃ(ə)n
/noun
1 [mass noun] The action or process of collecting someone or something: the collection of data refuse collection she left the envelope in the office for collection...
- First, a call from the salesman to tell me the car had arrived and was in process of being ‘made ready’ for collection on Thursday.
- Household waste presented for collection in refuse sacks or cardboard boxes will not be collected by Council staff.
- Then, it must be left ready for collection by a designated collector.
1.1 [count noun] A regular removal of mail for dispatch or of refuse for disposal: withdrawal of the Sunday collections...
- From today, Tuesday, all items that cannot be disposed of in regular collections can be dropped off at the centre.
- The crisis is affecting all aspects of life in the rural community with refuse collections and postal services to farms affected by the restrictions placed on people entering and leaving farmland.
- The post office has refused to make collections from a post box but as soon as the cameras are in, I shall be writing in the hope the box will be reopened.
1.2 [count noun] An instance of collecting money in a church service or for a charity: a collection is to be taken up for the Ecclesiastical Students Fund...
- She said churches had raised the money both through collections at services and through coffee mornings and other fund-raising events.
- She was very helpful and had a great community spirit, always willing to help out at the Church, charitable collections etc.
- In the Old Testament, Judas Maccabeus took up a collection that he sent to Jerusalem as a sin offering.
Synonyms
donations, contributions, gifts, subscription(s), alms
informal whip-round
1.3 [count noun] A sum of money raised during a church or charity collection.Furthermore, the Talmud provides a budget detailing how the Temple's collections should be expended.
Synonyms
offering, offertory, tithe
2A group of things or people: a rambling collection of houses...
- The Orkney Vintage Club's Orkney Cavalcade 2005 saw a collection of old vehicles drive around the West Mainland.
- Poland has a healthy collection of death metal bands, including Vader and Behemoth.
- Youngsters made a beeline for a table bearing a colourful collection of party hats, masks and whistles.
Synonyms
group, crowd, body, company, troupe, assembly, assemblage, gathering, throng;
knot, cluster, huddle, multitude, bevy, party, number, band, horde, pack, drove, flock, swarm, stream, mob
informal gang, load, crew, gaggle
2.1A group of accumulated items of a particular kind: a record collection...
- The private records collections consist mainly of donations of diaries and letters written by service people and their families.
- The first time I was there, it seemed to have borrowed my record collection for the afternoon.
- The latest in the occasional Another Late Night series raids the record collection of icebox studio duo Groove Armada.
Synonyms
hoard, pile, heap, stack, gathering, stock, store, stockpile;
accumulation, mass, build-up, reserve, supply, bank, pool, fund, mine, reservoir;
conglomeration, cumulation, accrual, aggregation, accretion, agglomerate, agglomeration
rare amassment
set, series, array, assortment
2.2A book or recording containing various texts, poems, songs, etc. a collection of essays...
- Colquhoun's fourth poetry book, a collection of love poems, is due out next year.
- The author has published six books, five collections of poetry and a volume of essays.
- Paul Kane has published eight books, including two collections of poems and a critical study of Australian poetry.
Synonyms
anthology, selection, compendium, treasury, compilation, miscellany, miscellanea, pot-pourri;
collected works
archaic garland
rare analects, collectanea, ana, florilegium, spicilege
2.3A range of new clothes produced by a fashion house: a preview of their autumn collection...
- The final day of this year's Alternative Fashion Week saw a variety of collections ranging from the understated to blatant exhibitionism.
- Urban Outfitters is noted for its ground-breaking fashion collections and quirky gift range, and has a US turnover of $200 million.
- The fall fashion collections are by far my favorite.
3 (collections) British College examinations held at the beginning or end of a term, especially at Oxford University.Revising for two collections + new term work is dull....
- However I'm not quite sure what he means by ‘this term's achievements’ - collections?
Origin
Late Middle English: via Old French from Latin collectio(n-), from colligere 'gather together' (see collect1).