/ kəˈlekʃn; NAmE / noun
GROUP OF OBJECTS / PEOPLE
1.
[ C ] a group of objects, often of the same sort, that have been collected :
a stamp / coin, etc. collection
The painting comes from his private collection.
2.
[ C ] a group of objects or people :
There was a collection of books and shoes on the floor.
There is always a strange collection of runners in the London Marathon.
TAKING AWAY / BRINGING TOGETHER
3.
[ C , U ] an act of taking sth away from a place; an act of bringing things together into one place :
refuse / garbage collection
The last collection from this postbox is at 5.15.
Your suit will be ready for collection on Tuesday.
The first stage in research is data collection.
—compare pickup
POEMS / STORIES / MUSIC
4.
[ C ] a group of poems, stories or pieces of music published together as one book or disc :
a collection of stories by women writers
MONEY
5.
[ C ] an act of collecting money to help a charity or during a church service; the money collected :
a house-to-house collection for Cancer Research
The total collection last week amounted to £250.
NEW CLOTHES
6.
[ C ] a range of new clothes or items for the home that are designed, made and offered for sale, often for a particular season :
Armani's stunning new autumn collection
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : via Old French from Latin collectio(n-) , from colligere gather together, from col- together + legere choose or collect.