What does "collar" mean?
Clothes that encircle the neck.; The part of an upper garment (shirt, jacket, etc.) that fits around the neck and throat, especially if sewn from a separate piece of fabric.
Collar
/ˈkɑ.ləɹ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Clothes that encircle the neck.; The part of an upper garment (shirt, jacket, etc.) that fits around the neck and throat, especially if sewn from a separate piece of fabric.
- Grammar: collar is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: arrest, neckband, anklet, annex.
- Useful contrasts: detach, exemption, free.
- Usage evidence: The man tried to catch hold of me by the collar.
How to use "collar"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "collar" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "collar" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "collar" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "collar" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "collar" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "arrest" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "collar", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Clothes that encircle the neck.; The part of an upper garment (shirt, jacket, etc.) that fits around the neck and throat, especially if sewn from a separate piece of fabric.
"It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar."
- 2 the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal) wordnet
- 3 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A decorative band or other fabric around the neckline.
- 4 a figurative restraint wordnet
- 5 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A chain worn around the neck.
Show 25 more definitions
- 6 necklace that fits tightly around a woman's neck wordnet
- 7 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A similar detachable item.
- 8 a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over wordnet
- 9 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A coloured ring round the neck of a bird or mammal.
- 10 a band of leather or rope that is placed around an animal's neck as a harness or to identify it wordnet
- 11 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A band or chain around an animal's neck, used to restrain and/or identify it.
"Make sure your dog has a collar holding an identification tag."
- 12 the stitching that forms the rim of a shoe or boot wordnet
- 13 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A part of harness designed to distribute the load around the shoulders of a draft animal.
- 14 a short ring fastened over a rod or shaft to limit, guide, or secure a machine part wordnet
- 15 Clothes that encircle the neck.; A hangman's knot. archaic
- 16 anything worn or placed about the neck wordnet
- 17 A piece of meat from the neck of an animal.
"a collar of brawn"
- 18 (zoology) an encircling band or marking around the neck of any animal wordnet
- 19 Any encircling device or structure.
"A nylon collar kept the bolt from damaging the surface underneath."
- 20 Any encircling device or structure.; A physical lockout device to prevent operation of a mechanical signal lever.
- 21 Any encircling device or structure.; A ring or cincture.
- 22 Any encircling device or structure.; A collar beam.
- 23 Any encircling device or structure.; A curb, or a horizontal timbering, around the mouth of a shaft.
- 24 Of or pertaining to a certain category of professions as symbolized by typical clothing. in-compounds
- 25 The neck or line of junction between the root of a plant and its stem
- 26 A ringlike part of a mollusk in connection with the esophagus.
- 27 An eye formed in the bight or bend of a shroud or stay to go over the masthead; also, a rope to which certain parts of rigging, as dead-eyes, are secured.
- 28 An arrest. slang
"The collar was made less than twenty-four hours after the hunky bastards butchered the old man."
- 29 A trading strategy using options such that there is both an upper limit on profit and a lower limit on loss, constructed through taking equal but opposite positions in a put and a call with different strike prices.
- 30 A topological neighborhood around a submanifold that can be deformed to preserve a specified condition or structure.
Verb
- 1 To grab or seize by the collar or neck. transitive
- 2 take into custody wordnet
- 3 To place a collar on, to fit with one. transitive
"Collar and leash aggressive dogs."
- 4 furnish with a collar wordnet
- 5 To surround or encircle.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 seize by the neck or collar wordnet
- 7 To seize, capture or detain. transitive
- 8 To steal. transitive
""Ho, aboard the Salt Junk Sarah, Rollin" home across the line, The Bo'sun collared the Captain's hat And threw it in the brine."
- 9 To preempt, control stringently and exclusively. transitive
- 10 To arrest. transitive
"Britain’s police are especially zealous. Officers spend thousands of hours sifting through potentially offensive posts and arrest 30 people a day. Among those collared were a man who ranted about immigration on Facebook and a couple who criticised their daughter’s primary school."
- 11 To bind in conversation. figuratively, transitive
"I managed to collar Fred in the office for an hour."
- 12 To roll up (beef or other meat) and bind it with string preparatory to cooking. transitive
- 13 To bind (a submissive) to a dominant under specific conditions or obligations. transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The man tried to catch hold of me by the collar."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "collar"?
Common synonyms include: arrest, neckband, anklet, annex, apprehend, apprehend.
How do you use "collar" in a sentence?
The man tried to catch hold of me by the collar.
How do you pronounce "collar"?
Pronounced /ˈkɑ.ləɹ/.
Etymology
From Middle English coler, borrowed from Old French coler (Modern French collier), from Late Latin collāre, from Latin collāris, from collum (“neck”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃 (hals, “neck”), Old English heals (“neck”). Compare Spanish cuello (“neck”). More at halse. Doublet of collet.