Phrase guide

collective noun

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /kəˌlɛk.tɪv ˈnaʊn/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A noun which, though singular, refers to a group of things or animals.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a noun that is singular in form but refers to a group of people or things

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: noun

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: versamelnaam — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Afrikaans: kollektief — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Afrikaans: collectivum — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Bulgarian: събира́телно съществи́телно (sǎbirátelno sǎštestvítelno) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Chinese Mandarin: 集合名詞 /集合名词 (jíhé míngcí) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Dutch: verzamelnaam — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Dutch: collectivum — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Finnish: kollektiivisubstantiivi — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • French: nom collectif — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • German: Sammelname — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • German: Kollektivum — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Hungarian: gyűjtőnév — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Hungarian: gyűjtőfőnév — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Icelandic: safnheiti — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Italian: nome collettivo — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Japanese: 集合名詞 (shūgōmeisi) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Korean: 집합명사 (jiphammyeongsa) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Northern Kurdish: hevenav — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Macedonian: збирна именка (zbirna imenka) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Norman: nom collectif — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Polish: rzeczownik zbiorowy — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Portuguese: substantivo coletivo — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Romanian: substantiv colectiv — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Russian: собира́тельное существи́тельное (sobirátelʹnoje suščestvítelʹnoje) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Scottish Gaelic: ainmear trusaidh — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Serbo-Croatian: збирна именица — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Serbo-Croatian: zbirna imenica — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Slovene: zbirno ime — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Spanish: sustantivo colectivo — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Spanish: nombre colectivo — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: myckenhetsnamn — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: myckenhetsord — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: samlingsnamn — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: sammanfattningsnamn — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: sammelbenämning — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Swedish: sammelnamn — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Tagalog: pangngalang palansak — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Thai: สมุหนาม (sà-mù-hà-naam) — noun referring to a group of similar things
  • Welsh: enw torfol — noun referring to a group of similar things