collective
gb/kəlˈɛktɪv/ us/kəlˈɛktɪv/
B2
English
~ 5400
közös, együttes, kollektív, kollektíva, közösség, kollektívum, gyűjtőnév, kollektív gazdaság, kolhoz, termelőszövetkezet
B2
1
Usage pattern:
collective [noun]
Climate change demands a collective response from the international community.
Az éghajlatváltozás közös fellépést követel a nemzetközi közösségtől.
The project was a collective effort involving staff from every department.
A projekt közös erőfeszítés volt, amelyben minden részleg munkatársai részt vettek.
We have a collective responsibility to protect vulnerable people in our society.
The ceremony became a moment of collective grief and reflection.
Through collective bargaining, the union secured better working conditions.
Learner examples
Cleaning the park was a collective effort by the neighbors.
A park kitakarítása a szomszédok közös erőfeszítése volt.
We made a collective decision to move the meeting to Friday.
Közös döntést hoztunk arról, hogy péntekre tesszük át a megbeszélést.
As parents, we share a collective duty to keep children safe.
The team felt a collective sense of pride after the win.
This problem needs a collective answer, not just one person’s idea.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "collection" instead of "collective" (e.g. saying *a collection effort* instead of *a collective effort*). Another common mistake is using "collective" before people instead of their actions, e.g. *a collective people*; it is more natural to say *a collective decision / effort / response*.
Meaning
done by people as a group
Collocations
collective effort
|collective responsibility
|collective memory
|collective bargaining
|collective action
|collective punishment
Synonyms
joint (Stresses that something is done together by two or more people.)
|
shared (Emphasizes that something belongs to or is experienced by several people.)
|
communal (Often suggests something shared within a community or living group.)
Antonyms
individual (Focuses on one person acting alone, not a group.)
|
separate (Suggests things are kept apart, not joined or done together.)
Themes
society
|politics
|work
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Done by a group of people together, or shared by all of them.
Involving or shared by all members of a group, rather than by individuals acting alone.
NOUN
C1
2
kollektíva
B2
Usage pattern:
a collective of [people]
She joined an artists' collective that shares a large studio space.
Csatlakozott egy művészkollektívához, amely közösen használ egy nagy műtermet.
The café is run as a workers' collective, so everyone has a say in major decisions.
A kávézót dolgozói kollektívaként működtetik, így mindenkinek van beleszólása a fontos döntésekbe.
They live in a housing collective where all residents help manage the building.
The food collective buys produce in bulk and sells it at low prices to members.
Our university has a student collective that organizes events and campaigns.
Learner examples
He works in a small coffee collective with five other people.
Egy kis kávés kollektívában dolgozik öt másik emberrel.
The artists' collective shows their work in one big gallery.
A művészkollektíva egy nagy galériában mutatja be az alkotásait.
In a collective, members vote on important choices.
The group started a farming collective to share money and tools.
She wants to start a writers' collective in her city.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse "collective" (a group) with "collection" (a set of things, like books). They also sometimes add an unnecessary plural, saying *collectives of artists* when *an artists' collective* is more natural in many contexts.
Meaning
group running or sharing something jointly
Collocations
workers' collective
|artists' collective
|housing collective
|food collective
|student collective
Synonyms
cooperative (Often refers to a business owned and run by its members; slightly more formal and legal-sounding.)
|
co-op (Informal, shortened form commonly used for cooperative businesses or housing.)
Antonyms
corporation (Suggests a formal, often hierarchical company, not a flat, shared-ownership group.)
|
sole proprietorship (A business owned and run by one person, not by a group.)
Themes
work
|society
|politics
|business
Definition
A group of people who share work, money, or space and make decisions together in an equal way.
A group of people who work, live, or make decisions together and share responsibility, often without a traditional hierarchy.
NOUN
C1
3
közösség
A2
kollektívum
C1
Usage pattern:
the collective
The decision shocked the collective, leaving many people angry and confused.
A döntés megrázta a közösséget; sokan dühösek és tanácstalanok maradtak.
Social media can give the collective a powerful voice.
A közösségi média erős hangot adhat a közösség egészének.
In times of crisis, the collective often shows great resilience.
The film explores the tension between the individual and the collective.
Artists have a role in shaping the collective imagination.
Learner examples
The news made the collective feel very afraid.
A hír nagyon megijesztette a közösséget.
As a collective, we can solve this problem.
Közösségként meg tudjuk oldani ezt a problémát.
Sometimes the collective is stronger than one person.
The law protects both the individual and the collective.
The song became part of the collective of our childhood memories.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "collective" here like a normal countable noun with many different groups (e.g. *many collectives felt sad*). In this abstract sense, English usually uses *the collective* to mean one whole group, often with a general or societal meaning.
Meaning
people considered as a whole group
Collocations
the collective
|the national collective
|the global collective
|the online collective
Synonyms
community (Stresses shared identity or place; not always as abstract as "the collective".)
|
society (Refers to people living together in an organized way; often larger and more formal than "collective".)
Antonyms
individual (Refers to one person alone, not people acting or feeling together.)
Themes
society
|emotions
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Definition
People in a group seen as one whole, especially when they feel or do something together.
All the members of a group considered together as one body, especially when talking about their shared feelings, actions, or power.
B2
TECHNICAL
4
gyűjtőnév
B2
Usage pattern:
collective [noun]
In English, "team" is a collective noun that can take either singular or plural verbs.
Az angolban a „team” gyűjtőnév, és állhat mellette egyes vagy többes számú igealak is.
Words like "family" and "staff" are common collective nouns.
Az olyan szavak, mint a „family” és a „staff”, gyakori gyűjtőnevek.
Teachers often explain subject–verb agreement using lists of collective nouns.
The term "audience" functions as a collective noun in this sentence.
Learners sometimes treat collective nouns as always singular, which is not always correct in British English.
Learner examples
The word "family" is a collective noun.
A „family” szó gyűjtőnév.
We learned that "group" is a collective noun in class.
Az órán megtanultuk, hogy a „group” szó gyűjtőnév.
Collective nouns talk about many people as one thing.
The teacher wrote three collective nouns on the board.
Is "team" a collective noun or a normal noun?
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse collective nouns with plural nouns and think they must always use plural verbs (e.g. *The team are winning* in American English, where *The team is winning* is more usual). They may also think every noun referring to many things (like "cars") is a collective noun, but only words that treat the group as a single unit are called "collective".
Meaning
describing a noun that names a group
Collocations
collective noun
|collective term
|collective subject
|collective singular
Synonyms
group (as in group noun) (Informal way to talk about nouns like "team"; not a strict technical label like "collective".)
Antonyms
proper noun (Names a specific person, place, or thing, not a group treated as one unit.)
Themes
language
|education
|communication
Definition
Describes a noun that names a group, like "team" or "family", and treats it as one thing.
Used about a noun that refers to a group of people or things considered as a single unit.
NOUN
C2
TECHNICAL
5
Usage pattern:
a collective
His grandparents spent their childhood on a Soviet collective.
Nagyszülei a gyermekkorukat egy szovjet kolhozban töltötték.
Under the new policy, private land was turned into large collectives.
Az új politika értelmében a magántulajdonú földeket nagy kollektív gazdaságokba vonták össze.
Life on the collective was tightly controlled by party officials.
Many collectives struggled with low productivity and poor management.
The novel is set on a rural collective in the 1950s.
Learner examples
The farmer lost his land and had to work on a collective.
A gazda elvesztette a földjét, és egy kollektív gazdaságban kellett dolgoznia.
People on the collective shared tools and animals.
A kollektív gazdaságban az emberek közösen használták a szerszámokat és az állatokat.
In that country, many farms became collectives after the revolution.
The story tells about a boy growing up on a collective.
Workers on the collective did not own the land themselves.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this noun means any group of people. In this historical–political sense, it refers specifically to a type of farm or enterprise under a socialist or communist system.
Meaning
state-controlled jointly run farm
Collocations
Soviet collective
|state collective
|rural collective
|agricultural collective
Synonyms
collective farm (Full term; more explicit and slightly clearer to modern readers.)
Antonyms
private farm (Emphasizes ownership and control by an individual or family, not a group or the state.)
Themes
history
|politics
|work
Definition
A farm that is owned and worked by a group of people together, usually in a communist country; the short form of "collective farm".
A farm or similar enterprise that is owned and run jointly by its workers or by a community, typically under a socialist or communist system; short for "collective farm".
Grammar
Dictionary form
collective
IPA
GB/kəlˈɛktɪv/
US/kəlˈɛktɪv/
Syllables & stress
col - lect - ive (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (lect)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: collective
Noun
- Base: collective
- Plural: collectives
Word family
Forms
collectives
noun
Core family
Related words
collectible
adjective B2
Negative and opposite forms
individual
adjective B1
individually
adverb B1
Advanced or less common
collectivism
noun C1
collectivist
noun
Expressions
collective action
1/kəlˈɛktɪv ˈækʃən/
fixed phrase
group action for a common goal
Things that people do together as a group to reach the same goal, often political or social.
Examples
- The protest was an example of collective action against corruption.
- Climate change can only be addressed through global collective action.
- The book examines why people sometimes choose not to join collective action.
collective bargaining
1/kəlˈɛktɪv bˈɑɹɡɪnɪŋ/
fixed phrase
workers negotiating with employer as group
Talks between a company and a group of workers (usually through a union) to decide pay and working conditions.
Examples
- The union called a strike after collective bargaining broke down.
- Collective bargaining helped the workers win higher wages and better benefits.
- Laws in many countries protect the right to collective bargaining.
collective effort
1/kəlˈɛktɪv ˈɛfɚt/
fixed phrase
effort made by a group together
Work or energy from many people together, not just one person.
Examples
- The project was a collective effort by staff across all departments.
- Cleaning the beach took a real collective effort.
- Ending the pandemic will require a global collective effort.
collective memory
1/kəlˈɛktɪv mˈɛmɚi/
fixed phrase
group’s shared memory of the past
The way a group of people remembers and talks about important events in its past.
Examples
- The war still shapes the country’s collective memory.
- Films and books play a big role in forming collective memory.
- That disaster is part of the collective memory of the city.
collective responsibility
1/kəlˈɛktɪv ɹispˌɑnsɪbˈɪləti/
fixed phrase
responsibility shared by a group
The idea that every person in a group is responsible for what the group does.
Examples
- The cabinet operates under collective responsibility, so all ministers must support the decision.
- We have a collective responsibility to protect the environment for future generations.
- In this team, success and failure are matters of collective responsibility.
collective security
1/kəlˈɛktɪv sɪkjˈʊɹɪti/
fixed phrase
formal
shared defense between countries
A system where countries promise to help defend each other if one of them is attacked.
Examples
- The alliance is based on the principle of collective security.
- Collective security depends on all member states keeping their promises.
- The organization was created to provide collective security after the war.
collective unconscious
1/kəlˈɛktɪv ˌʌŋkˈɑnʃəs/
fixed phrase
technical
shared unconscious mind across humanity
In psychology, the idea that all humans share deep mental patterns and symbols that they are not aware of.
Examples
- Jung argued that myths come from the collective unconscious.
- The film seems to tap into the collective unconscious of its audience.
- Some psychologists reject the idea of a collective unconscious as unscientific.
collective wisdom
1/kəlˈɛktɪv wˈɪzdəm/
fixed phrase
knowledge gathered from many people
The ideas and good judgment you get when you listen to many people, not just one person.
Examples
- We relied on the collective wisdom of the team to solve the problem.
- Online reviews can reflect the collective wisdom of thousands of customers.
- The collective wisdom of the group was greater than any single expert’s advice.
collective noun
1/kəlˈɛktɪv nˈaʊn/
fixed phrase
technical
grammar term for group word
A noun that talks about a group of people or things as one thing, like "team", "family", or "audience".
Examples
- Students often confuse plural nouns with collective nouns.
- "Team" is a collective noun that refers to a group of players.
- The teacher asked the class to list five collective nouns.
- In British English, a collective noun can take a plural verb when the group is seen as individuals.
- In British English, many collective nouns can take plural verbs.
- Words like "family", "staff", and "crowd" are common collective nouns.
collective punishment
1/kəlˈɛktɪv pˈʌnɪʃmənt/
fixed phrase
formal
punishment of a whole group
Punishment that is given to many people together, even if only some of them did something wrong.
Examples
- Human‑rights groups condemned the policy as collective punishment.
- Collective punishment of civilians is banned under international law.
- They argued that closing the whole school was unfair collective punishment.
collective punishment
2/kəlˈɛktɪv pˈʌnɪʃmənt/
fixed phrase
punishing a whole group for some
Punishing a whole group of people for what only some people in the group did.
Examples
- International law generally forbids collective punishment of civilian populations.
- Shutting down the whole school for one class’s mistake felt like collective punishment.
- Human rights groups condemned the policy as a form of collective punishment.