collate

/kəˈleɪt/

//kəˈleɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"collate" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“collate” is uncommon English (frequency #57,944 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#57,944
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To examine diverse documents and so on, to discover similarities and differences.

Corpus desk

Index EN-collate · collate · English

collate · rank #57,944 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #57,944
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Colonia

Nearest frequency peer: Colonia (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “collate”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “collate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for collate
PropertyValue
Headwordcollate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəˈleɪt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#57,944
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “collate” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).collatefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Colonia” (#57,945), “colonic” (#57,946), “claymore” (#57,941). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “collate” is #57,944. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

collate is uncommon English at frequency #57,944 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kəˈleɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for collate, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin collātus, perfect passive participle of conferō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of confer. See also infer, delate and defer (Etymology 2), relate and refer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. Not related to collateral. The correct English form is collate, spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To examine diverse documents and so on, to discover similarities and differences.
  2. 2
    To assemble something in a logical sequence.
  3. 3
    To sort multiple copies of printed documents into sequences of individual page order, one sequence for each copy, especially before binding.
  4. 4
    To bestow or confer.
  5. 5
    To admit a cleric to a benefice; to present and institute in a benefice, when the person presenting is both the patron and the ordinary; followed by to.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how collate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The young attorneys were set the task of collating the contract submitted by the other side with the previous copy.
  2. collate data

Etymology

From Latin collātus, perfect passive participle of conferō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of confer. See also infer, delate and defer (Etymology 2), relate and refer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. Not related to collateral.

This word in other languages

cotejar(Español)collationner(Français)abgleichen(Deutsch)cotejar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "collate"?
"collate" is spelled C-O-L-L-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈleɪt/.
What does "collate" mean?
As a verb, "collate" means: To examine diverse documents and so on, to discover similarities and differences.
How do you pronounce "collate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "collate" is /kəˈleɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "collate"?
From Latin collātus, perfect passive participle of conferō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of confer. See also infer, delate and defer (Etymology 2), relate and refer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. Not related to collateral. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "collate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Colonia#57,945colonic#57,946Corinna#57,955Chadian#57,932

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list