What does "collector" mean?
A person who or thing that collects, or which creates or manages a collection.
Collector
/kəˈlɛktɚ/ name, noun
name, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who or thing that collects, or which creates or manages a collection.
- Grammar: collector is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: accumulator, gatherer, accumulator, accumulators.
- Useful contrasts: circulator, depressants, dispenser.
- Usage evidence: The garbage collector comes three times a week.
How to use "collector"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "collector" 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 "collector" 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 "collector" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "collector" 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 "collector" is acting as name, noun 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 "accumulator" 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 "collector", 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 A person who or thing that collects, or which creates or manages a collection.
"She is an avid collector of nineteenth-century postage stamps."
- 2 the electrode in a transistor through which a primary flow of carriers leaves the region between the electrodes wordnet
- 3 A person who is employed to collect payments.
"She works for the government as a tax collector."
- 4 a crater that has collected cosmic material hitting the earth wordnet
- 5 A person who is employed to collect payments.; A mafioso whose task is to collect protection money from small businesses
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 a person who is employed to collect payments (as for rent or taxes) wordnet
- 7 The amplified terminal on a bipolar junction transistor.
- 8 a person who collects things wordnet
- 9 A compiler of books; one who collects scattered passages and puts them together in one book.
"Volumes[…] without any of tthe collector's own reflections."
- 10 One holding a Bachelor of Arts in Oxford, formerly appointed to superintend some scholastic proceedings in Lent. historical
"Whereupon he soon after appointed A. W. his collector in Austins; which office he kept till he was admitted Mr. of arts"
- 11 A major sewer which collects sewerage from a number of smaller branch sewers
Proper Noun
- 1 A locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang council area, Upper Lachlan council area and the Yass Valley council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.
Example
"The garbage collector comes three times a week."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "collector"?
Common synonyms include: accumulator, gatherer, accumulator, accumulators, addict, admirer.
How do you use "collector" in a sentence?
The garbage collector comes three times a week.
How do you pronounce "collector"?
Pronounced /kəˈlɛktɚ/.
Etymology
From Middle English collectour, from Anglo-Norman collectour, from Late Latin collector, from Latin colligō (“to gather together”).