Collect means to bring things together in one place, usually on purpose and over time. When you collect baseball cards, you gather them one by one until you have many. When you collect shells at the beach, you pick them up and put them in your bucket. A library collects books so readers can find them all in one place.

The word often suggests gathering things carefully or systematically. Someone might collect stamps from different countries, collect rocks and minerals, or collect interesting facts about dinosaurs. A museum collects artifacts from history. Scientists collect data by recording their observations.

Collect can also mean to gather yourself mentally. When a teacher says “collect your thoughts,” she means take a moment to organize your thinking before speaking. When someone needs to collect themselves after receiving surprising news, they're taking time to calm down and think clearly.

You can also collect people: a parent collects their children from school, meaning they pick them up and bring them home.

A collection is a group of items someone has gathered, whether it's a coin collection, an art collection, or a collection of smooth stones from the river.