Meaning & use
collectively
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Meaning
adverbnot comparable
As one group, with everyone included, rather than each person acting alone.
Grammar: Often comes before the verb or at the start of a sentence: they collectively decided.
Patterns
- collectively own something
- collectively responsible for something
The residents collectively own the building.
The staff collectively decided to share the bonus.
Collectively, the three schools serve over a thousand pupils.
Common combinations
- collectively responsible
- The directors are collectively responsible for the decision.
- collectively known as
- The three islands are collectively known as the Triplets.
- collectively own
- Members collectively own the cooperative.
- work collectively
- The villagers worked collectively to rebuild the bridge.
- collectively agree
- The class collectively agreed to change the date.
Synonyms and how they differ
- jointly
- Jointly is used when two or a few parties share something formally, while collectively suggests a larger group.
- together
- Together is the everyday word and may only mean at the same time or place, whereas collectively treats the group as one unit.
- as a group
- As a group is plainer and more casual, and collectively sounds more formal and precise.
- communally
- Communally refers to sharing as a community, particularly living or property, while collectively covers any group action.
Opposites
Word family
- collective adjective
- done or shared by a group
- collective noun
- a group of people working together
- collect verb
- to gather things or people together
- collection noun
- a group of things gathered together
- collectivism noun
- the belief that a group should own resources
Commonly confused: collectively or correctively?
collectively vs correctively
Correctively is a rare word about fixing something, and it is not the same as collectively.
Practice
The five partners ____ own the company, so none of them can sell it alone.
Choose one answer.
Collectively means as a group, which matches shared ownership. Individually and separately mean the opposite, and privately does not describe group ownership.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “collectively”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.