collector
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a person who gathers and keeps a set of similar things, like stamps, art, or coins, because they are interested in them.
an individual who acquires and maintains a curated collection of objects for personal interest, investment, or study.
Simple“He is an avid stamp collector and has albums from all over the world.”
In context“The private collector spent decades acquiring rare manuscripts, eventually donating the entire archive to the national library for preservation.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a person whose job is to get money that people owe, such as taxes or bills.
an official or employee responsible for the recovery of payments, debts, or taxes.
Simple“The tax collector visited the shop to check their financial records.”
In context“The agency employed a debt collector to recover the outstanding balances from clients who had defaulted on their monthly payments.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
one of the three parts of a specific type of transistor used in electronics.
the region in a bipolar junction transistor that receives charge carriers from the base.
Simple“The circuit failed because the wire to the collector was loose.”
In context“In a common-emitter configuration, the output signal is typically taken from the collector terminal to achieve maximum voltage gain.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
a large pipe that gathers waste or water from many smaller pipes.
a primary sewer or conduit designed to receive flow from multiple tributary branches.
Simple“The city is building a new collector to handle the extra rainwater.”
In context“Engineers identified a blockage in the main collector pipe, which had caused significant backup throughout the residential drainage network.”
“Her mother was an actor; her uncle, an avid record collector; Badu’s grandmother bought her her first piano.”
“The model is regarded more as a collector's item than a working weapon, which made the theory of a professional hit against the family seem less likely.”
From Middle English collectour, from Anglo-Norman collectour, from Late Latin collector, from Latin colligō (“to gather together”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.