- to gather together; assemble: The professor collected the students' exams.
- to accumulate; make a collection of: to collect stamps.
- to receive or compel payment of: to collect a bill.
- to regain control of (oneself or one's thoughts, faculties, composure, or the like): At the news of her promotion, she took a few minutes to collect herself.
- to call for and take with one: He drove off to collect his guests.They collected their mail.
- to bring (a horse) into a collected attitude.
- to infer.
- to gather together; assemble: The students collected in the assembly hall.
- to accumulate: Rainwater collected in the barrel.
- to receive payment (often followed by on): He collected on the damage to his house.
- to gather or bring together books, stamps, coins, etc., usually as a hobby: He's been collecting for years.
- (of a horse) to come into a collected attitude.
- requiring payment by the recipient: a collect telephone call;a telegram sent collect.
- any of certain brief prayers used in Western churches especially before the epistle in the communion service.
- to gather together or be gathered together
- to accumulate (stamps, books, etc) as a hobby or for study
- to call for or receive payment of (taxes, dues, etc)
- to regain control of (oneself, one's emotions, etc) as after a shock or surprise
- to fetch; pick up
- to receive large sums of money, as from an investment
- to collide with; be hit by
- collect on delivery the US term for cash on delivery
- (of telephone calls) on a reverse-charge basis
- a winning bet
- a short Church prayer generally preceding the lesson or epistle in Communion and other services
