collector

noun

col·​lec·​tor kə-ˈlek-tər 

: one that collects: such as

a

: an official who collects funds or moneys

b

: a person who makes a collection

stamp collector

c

: an object or device that collects

the statuette was a dust collector

d

: solar collector

collectorship

kə-ˈlek-tər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of collector in a Sentence

He is an avid stamp collector.

The painting was purchased by a private collector.

The trash collectors came early today.

Recent Examples on the Web

The art world changed in October 1958 with the sale of impressionist paintings owned by Jakob Goldschmidt, a legendary German collector at Sotheby’s in London. —Terry W. Hartle, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Mar. 2025

While the original ‘Ur-Leica’ is still owned by Leica Camera AG and is definitely not for sale, passionate collectors of of these vintage cameras occasionally get the rare opportunity to purchase one of the extant dozen 0-Series models. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025

More than 30 coin dealers will have high quality coins for the beginner to advanced collectors. —Joe Rassel, Orlando Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2025

Through all of that, a single nanometer of tin debris coating the collector optic would degrade the EUV transmission to unacceptable levels and put the machine out of commission. —Jayson Stewart, IEEE Spectrum, 5 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English collectour, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, borrowed from Latin collēctōr-, collēctor, from colleg-, variant stem of colligere "to gather together, assemble, accumulate" + -tōr-, -tor, agent suffix — more at collect entry 2

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing collector

• collector's item
• solar collector

Rhymes for collector

• bisector
• connector
• corrector
• defector
• deflector
• detector
• director
• dissector
• effector
• ejector
• elector
• erector

Kids Definition

collector

noun

col·​lec·​tor kə-ˈlek-tər 

1

: a person whose job is to collect money due

tax collector

bill collector

2

: one that makes a collection

stamp collector

3

: an object or device that collects

the ornament was just a dust collector