What does "collect" mean?
The prayer said before the reading of the epistle lesson, especially one found in a prayerbook, as with the Book of Common Prayer.
Collect
/kəˈlɛkt/ adj, adv, noun, verb
adj, adv, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The prayer said before the reading of the epistle lesson, especially one found in a prayerbook, as with the Book of Common Prayer.
- Grammar: collect is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accumulate, gather, gather up, academic discipline research.
- Useful contrasts: scattered people, strewn, airdrop.
- Usage evidence: I'd like to make a collect call to Los Angeles.
How to use "collect"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "collect" 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 "collect" 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 "collect" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "collect" 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 "collect" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb 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 "accumulate" 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 "collect", 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 The prayer said before the reading of the epistle lesson, especially one found in a prayerbook, as with the Book of Common Prayer. capitalized, sometimes
"He used the day's collect as the basis of his sermon."
- 2 a short prayer generally preceding the lesson in the Church of Rome or the Church of England wordnet
Verb
- 1 To gather together; amass. transitive
"Suzanne collected all the papers she had laid out."
- 2 assemble or get together wordnet
- 3 To get; particularly, get from someone. transitive
"A bank collects a monthly payment on a client's new car loan. A mortgage company collects a monthly payment on a house."
- 4 get or bring together wordnet
- 5 To accumulate (a number of similar or related objects), particularly for a hobby or recreation. transitive
"John Henry collects stamps."
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 call for and obtain payment of wordnet
- 7 To pick up or fetch transitive
"Can you collect me from the airport?"
- 8 get or gather together wordnet
- 9 To form a conclusion; to deduce, infer. (Compare gather, get.) archaic, transitive
"[…] which consequence, I conceive, is very ill collected."
- 10 gather or collect wordnet
- 11 To collect payments. intransitive
"He had a lot of trouble collecting on that bet he made."
- 12 To come together in a group or mass. intransitive
"The rain collected in puddles."
- 13 To infer; to conclude. transitive
"Whence some collect that the former word imports a plurality of persons."
- 14 To collide with or crash into (another vehicle or obstacle). transitive
"The truck veered across the central reservation and collected a car that was travelling in the opposite direction."
Adjective
- 1 To be paid for by the recipient, as a telephone call or a shipment. not-comparable
"It was to be a collect delivery, but no-one was available to pay."
Adjective
- 1 payable by the recipient on delivery wordnet
Adverb
- 1 With payment due from the recipient. not-comparable
"I had to call collect."
Adverb
- 1 make a telephone call or mail a package so that the recipient pays wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I'd like to make a collect call to Los Angeles."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "collect"?
Common synonyms include: accumulate, gather, gather up, academic discipline research, accouple, accreting shore.
How do you use "collect" in a sentence?
I'd like to make a collect call to Los Angeles.
How do you pronounce "collect"?
Pronounced /kəˈlɛkt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English collecten, a borrowing from Old French collecter, from Medieval Latin collectare (“to collect money”), from Latin collecta (“a collection of money, in Late Latin a meeting, assemblage, in Medieval Latin a tax, also an assembly for prayer, a prayer”), feminine of collectus, past participle of colligere, conligere (“to gather together, collect, consider, conclude, infer”), from com- (“together”) + legere (“to gather”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to gather, collect”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English collecte, from Ecclesiastical Latin collēcta (“assembly; collect”), originally designating the gathering at the beginning of a liturgical celebration.