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   collect

   /kəˈlɛkt/

   verb

   • 1. bring or gather together (a number of things): "he went round the office collecting old coffee cups" Similar gatheraccumulateassembleamassstockpilepile upheap uprack uprun upscrape togetherstore (up)hoardsavecumulatelay in/upgarnermassincreasemultiplyaccruesnowballtot upinformal:stash (away)Opposite distributesquander
   • ▪ come together and form a group: "a small crowd collected at the back door" Similar come togetherget togethergatherassemblemeetmusterclusterrallycongregateconveneconvergeflock togetherrare:foregatherOpposite disperse
   • ▪ systematically seek and acquire (items of a particular kind) as a hobby: "I've started collecting stamps"
   • ▪ accumulate over a period of time: "collect rainwater to use on the garden" Similar gatheraccumulateassembleamassstockpilepile upheap uprack uprun upscrape togetherstore (up)hoardsavecumulatelay in/upgarnermassincreasemultiplyaccruesnowballtot upinformal:stash (away)Opposite distributesquander
   • 2. call for and take away; fetch: "the children were collected from school" Similar fetchgo/come to getgo/come and getcall forgo/come formeetOpposite takedrop off
   • ▪ call for and obtain (payments) from a number of people: "he collected their rent each week"
   • ▪ go somewhere and receive (something) as a right or award: "she came to Oxford to collect her honorary degree"
   • ▪ ask for and receive (charitable donations): "they were collecting money for the war effort" Similar raiseappeal forask forask people to givesolicitsecureobtainacquiregatherOpposite distributegive away
   • 3. regain control of oneself, typically after a shock: "he paused for a moment to take a breath, to collect himself" Similar recoverregain one's composurepull oneself togethertake a hold of oneselfsteady oneselfinformal:get a grip (on oneself)get one's act togethersnap out of it
   • ▪ concentrate (one's thoughts): "she returned to her room to collect her thoughts" Similar mustersummon (up)gather (together)get togetherrallycall into actionmarshalmobilizescrew up
   • 4. conclude; infer: archaic "by all best conjectures, I collect Thou art to be my fatal enemy"
   • 5. cause (a horse) to bring its hind legs further forward as it moves: "a rider should want to be able to collect a horse when hacking"
   • 6. collide with: informal Australian, New Zealand "he lost control of the truck and collected two cats"

   adjective

   • 1. (of a phone call) paid for by the person receiving it: North American "a collect call"

   adverb

   • 1. (with reference to making a phone call) in a way that is paid for by the person receiving it: North American "I called my mother collect"

   noun

   • 1. a winning bet. informal Australian, New Zealand

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Old French collecter or medieval Latin collectare, from Latin collect- ‘gathered together’, from the verb colligere, from col- ‘together’ + legere ‘choose or collect’.

   Scrabble Points: 11

   • C

     3

   • O

     1

   • L

     1

   • L

     1

   • E

     1

   • C

     3

   • T

     1

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