Meaning & use
collating
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“collating” is a form of “collate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Putting sheets or documents into the correct order, especially so that sets are complete.
Grammar: Takes an object: collate the pages. The -ing form is used after be or as a noun-like subject: the machine is collating / collating takes time.
Patterns
- collate something
- collate something into something
- be collating something
The printer is collating the pages so each booklet comes out in order.
She spent the morning collating the reports into one folder.
The photocopier can staple and collate twenty sets at a time.
verbtransitive
Collecting information from different places and comparing it carefully.
Grammar: Takes an object; often used with 'data', 'results' or 'information'. The -ing form works as a gerund: collating the data took weeks.
Patterns
- collate data
- collate information from something
- collate results
The team is collating data from all five hospitals.
After collating the results, they wrote a short summary.
We are still collating information from the survey.
Word forms
| base form | collate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | collates |
| past tense | collated |
| past participle | collated |
| -ing form | collating |
Common combinations
- collate data
- Researchers collate data before drawing conclusions.
- collate information
- We need to collate information from every department.
- collate the results
- She is collating the results into a single table.
- collate and staple
- The copier can collate and staple the handouts.
- carefully collate
- He carefully collated the witness statements.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compile
- Compile is broader and often means building a whole document or list; collate stresses putting existing items in the right order or gathering them for comparison.
- assemble
- Assemble suggests physically bringing parts together; collate is more about ordering and checking items such as pages or data.
- gather
- Gather just means collecting; collate adds the idea of arranging or comparing what you have collected.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: collating or colliding? collating or collecting?
collating vs colliding
Colliding means crashing into each other and sounds similar; collating means putting things in order.
collating vs collecting
Collecting means bringing things together; collating means putting them into a correct order or comparing them.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'collating' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Collating' means arranging pages into the correct order, which fits the printer example. Option 0 confuses it with 'colliding' (crashing), and options 2 and 3 use it where 'combing' or 'jingling' would be needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “collating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.