What Are Collective Nouns? 40+ Collective Noun Examples

Collective nouns name a group of persons, places, ideas, or things that perform as a unit or act as one. As referenced in their name, collective nouns refer to a collection of individual entities grouped together. They may be used in the singular or plural. 

Learn about collective nouns with examples in this comprehensive guide. Then, make content review a breeze with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.

What Is the Purpose of a Collective Noun?

Collective nouns are essential when naming an assemblage of things in writing and speaking. 

Naming specific groups of animals

Naming groups of animals is a very specialized purpose of a collective noun, though perhaps not frequently used in everyday modern life. However, there are many other everyday uses of collective nouns all around us.

Examples:

• We waited until night to watch for the colony of bats. 
• Her dog had a litter of puppies last night!
• When the larvae hatched, a flutter of butterflies appeared. 
• A herd of wild horses ran across the plain.
• She saw a pod of whales from the cruise ship.

Specific assemblies of people

Many collective nouns are used to name gatherings or groupings of people. The collective noun often denotes not only the involvement of multiple people but can also reveal a bit about what the people are doing:

Examples:

• The jury is still in deliberations.
• Our town council canceled the annual parade.
• The faculty is negotiating a new contract. 
• His team was winning 5-0 when I left.
• Her family left for vacation today. 

In these examples, the collective nouns name people gathered for different aspects of life: the courtroom, town hall, school, sports field, and home.  A lot of information is shared through one simple word. 

General assemblies of people

Collective nouns can also be more generic, simply denoting the presence of two or more people.

Examples:

• A group gathered at the gates to wait for the parade to begin.
• A gathering formed in the street to celebrate the win.
• The crowd went wild!
• The party got up from the table after they finished their meal at the restaurant.

In these sentences, the context of the sentence reveals what action is happening. The collective nouns themselves are very basic. 

A collection of things

Some collective nouns name a group of things in the physical and natural world. 

Examples:

• Read the first book in the series; you’ll love it.
• Their caravan is on the road to California!
• The forest is dense with trees. 
• Your shrubbery is getting very overgrown.
• Dig out a clump of your daylilies for me, please.
• Which mountain range is the largest?

These collective nouns represent units of multiple things and simplify writing.

A specific or general amount of things

Collective nouns can also stand for a quantity or amount. It is more common for them to refer to a general amount.

Examples:

• I asked for a dozen donuts.
• The shopkeeper bought a gross of eggs.
• Can you please bring me that deck of cards?
• She brought me a pretty bunch of flowers. 
• A cloud of dust filled the room.
• May I have a slice of cake?
• Please put on a pot of tea.
• I received a wealth of information from my professor.

Very few collective nouns denote a specific number: dozen (12) and gross (144), for example. Other collective nouns just give a general idea of the unit a group of items form. 

Uncountable collective nouns

Some collective nouns are also uncountable nouns. They refer to a group of things that can’t be counted.

Examples:

• They watch way too much news.
• Did you finish your homework?
• How much clothing does one person need?
• The doctor conducted her patient rounds before leaving the hospital.

Plural Collective Nouns

Most collective nouns (all the countable ones, anyway) transition to the plural form easily because if there can be one group of things, there can be two groups of things. It is usually as simple as adding s or es to the singular form of the collective noun. 

Examples:

• The teams gathered for the competition.
• No committees will meet on the holiday.
• Several families volunteered at the event.
• The forests in our county are beautiful.

Subject-Verb Agreement and Collective Nouns

Choosing whether to use a singular verb or a plural verb can be tricky for writers. The rules are simple:

• Always use a singular collective noun with a singular verb.
• Only a plural collective noun is paired with a plural verb. 

When modifiers separate the noun and verb, focus on identifying the collective noun, determine if it is singular or plural, and then match the verb form to it.

Examples:

• That group of students is going last.
• Those other groups of students are going first. 

Pronoun Agreement with Collective Nouns

Just as a verb must agree with a collective noun, any pronoun that refers to the collective noun must agree in number with the noun. To ensure correct pronoun usage, isolate the collective noun first and then match it with the correct pronoun. 

Examples:

• A good committee knows its charge. 
• All committees must know their charge. 
• The team left its gear at the camp.
• The company presented its products at the launch.
• Both companies had launch parties for their products.

Final Thoughts: Collective Nouns Make Writing Cleaner

By using one word to describe a whole group of things in a single unit, collective nouns make writing more specific and less wordy. Using the correct verb form with a collective noun is crucial for correct grammar and positive reflection on your writing and brand. 

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Then, learn more grammar best practices in our resources:

• Countable and Uncountable Nouns: What’s the Difference?
• There vs. Their vs. They’re: How to Use Them Properly in Writing
• Common vs. Proper Nouns: A Comparative Guide
• What Are Verb Tenses? 12 Types of Verb Tenses