collect
verb
uk/kəˈlekt/ us [ T ]
to buy and keep a particular type of thing as a hobby or an investment:
She mostly collects American art.
[ T ]
to bring information together from different places:
collect information/data/evidence Market research companies collect data on consumers' preferences.
[ T ] FINANCE
to ask for and get money that is owed:
collect debts/fees/payments/taxes Collecting taxes on services is tricky, and e-commerce can only make it harder.
collect revenue/rent Why not buy a property and collect the rent yourself?
[ I or T ] FINANCE
to receive a payment that you have a right to have:
collect insurance/a pension/social security Employees with more than 20 years service can collect a full pension.
collect on insurance/an investment When he died, she collected on his life insurance.
[ T ] BANKING
to arrange for the amount written on a cheque to be paid out of a bank account:
When a bank clerk indorses a check, the bank collecting the check guarantees that the indorsement is genuine.
collect
adjective, adverb
US uk/kəˈlekt/ us COMMUNICATIONS
if someone phones collect or makes a collect phone call, the person they phone pays for the call:
Computer-based phone dialing equipment makes it possible to place a collect call without using an operator.