Collective Nouns for Things and Places

Collective Nouns for Things and Places

Language is full of surprises, and collective nouns are one of its most fascinating elements. While we often associate collective nouns with people or animals, everyday things and objects also have their own group names. From a stack of books to a fleet of ships, these terms make communication precise and colorful.

What Are Collective Nouns?

A collective noun refers to a group of people, animals, or things spoken of as a single unit.

• A pile of clothes
• A bundle of sticks
• A set of tools

Common Collective Nouns for Things

Collective Noun	Meaning	Example Sentence
A pair of shoes	Two shoes together	She bought a new pair of shoes for the party.
A group of islands	Several islands together	We sailed through a group of islands in the Caribbean.
A chain of islands	Islands in a line	The Hawaiian islands form a chain of islands.
A range of mountains	Connected mountain peaks	The Rocky Mountains are a vast range of mountains.
An album of photographs	Collection of photos in a book	She showed us an album of photographs from her trip.
A bale of cotton	Packaged cotton	Workers loaded a bale of cotton onto the truck.
A book of exercises	Collection of practice problems	The teacher assigned a book of exercises for homework.
A shower of rain	Brief period of rainfall	A sudden shower of rain cooled the afternoon heat.
A fleet of ships	Group of ships sailing together	A fleet of ships entered the harbor at dawn.
A series of events	Sequence of occurrences	The conference featured a series of events throughout the week.
A glossary of words	List of terms with definitions	The textbook included a glossary of words at the back.
A bundle of sticks	Group of sticks tied together	He gathered a bundle of sticks for the campfire.
A heap of sand	Pile of sand	Children played on a heap of sand at the beach.
A list of names	Written record of names	The teacher called from a list of names.
A line of cars	Vehicles in sequence	A long line of cars waited at the traffic light.
A cluster of stars	Group of stars close together	We observed a bright cluster of stars through the telescope.
A set of tools	Collection of implements	The mechanic organized his set of tools.
A stack of hay	Piled hay	The farmer built a tall stack of hay in the field.
A gallery of pictures	Collection of displayed images	The museum featured a gallery of pictures by local artists.
A box of cigars	Container of cigars	He kept a box of cigars in his office.
A clutch of eggs	Group of eggs in a nest	The hen sat on her clutch of eggs.
A cellar of wine	Collection of wine bottles	The restaurant boasted an impressive cellar of wine.
A batch of bread	Quantity of baked loaves	The baker pulled a fresh batch of bread from the oven.
A museum of art	Institution housing artworks	We spent the afternoon at the museum of art.
A flight of stairs	Series of steps	She climbed the long flight of stairs to her apartment.
A catalogue of goods	List of products	The company published a new catalogue of goods.
A sheaf of arrows	Bundle of arrows	The archer carried a sheaf of arrows on his back.
A babel of words	Confusing mix of words	The noisy meeting became a babel of words.
A whirl of windmills	Group of spinning windmills	The landscape was dotted with a whirl of windmills.
A fleet of lorries	Group of trucks	A fleet of lorries delivered goods across the country.
A palette of colors	Range of colors	The artist mixed a vibrant palette of colors.
A ring of keys	Keys on a keyring	He jingled his ring of keys nervously.
A battery of guns	Group of artillery pieces	The fort was defended by a battery of guns.
A pack of cards	Complete set of playing cards	They played poker with a new pack of cards.
A network of computers	Connected computer systems	The office runs on a network of computers.
A library of books	Collection of books	The scholar had amassed a vast library of books.
A string of pearls	Necklace of pearls	She wore her grandmother’s string of pearls.
A rabble of remedies	Collection of cures	The old medicine cabinet held a rabble of remedies.
A nest of rumors	Collection of unverified stories	The scandal spawned a nest of rumors.
An agenda of tasks	List of things to do	She organized her day with an agenda of tasks.
An anthology of poems	Collection of poems	The class studied an anthology of poems by modern writers.
An armada of ships	Large fleet of warships	An armada of ships set sail for battle.
An atlas of maps	Book of maps	He consulted an atlas of maps to plan the route.
A bank of circuits	Group of electronic circuits	The technician tested a bank of circuits.
A bank of monitors	Array of display screens	The control room had a bank of monitors.
A budget of papers	Collection of documents	The lawyer reviewed a budget of papers for the case.
A bunch of keys	Several keys together	She rummaged through her purse for the bunch of keys.
A chest of drawers	Furniture with storage compartments	The antique chest of drawers held her linens.
A block of flats	Apartment building	They lived in a modern block of flats downtown.
An alliance of countries	Group of nations united	An alliance of countries formed to address climate change.
A confederation of states	Union of political entities	The Articles of Confederation created a confederation of states.
A network of roads	System of connected roads	The city developed an efficient network of roads.
A bouquet of flowers	Arranged cut flowers	He presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
A stack of books	Pile of books	A tall stack of books teetered on her desk.
A herd of cows	Group of cattle	A herd of cows grazed in the pasture.
A swarm of bees	Large group of flying bees	A swarm of bees settled in the old tree.
A pack of wolves	Group of wolves	Researchers tracked a pack of wolves in the forest.
A bunch of grapes	Cluster of grapes on a vine	She plucked a bunch of grapes from the arbor.
A basket of eggs	Eggs in a basket	The farmer collected a basket of eggs each morning.
A collection of coins	Group of coins	His prized possession was a rare collection of coins.
A cluster of grapes	Group of grapes growing together	A ripe cluster of grapes hung from the vine.
A pod of whales	Group of whales	We were thrilled to spot a pod of whales offshore.
A suite of rooms	Set of connected rooms	The hotel offered a luxurious suite of rooms.
A fleet of cars	Many cars together	A fleet of cars arrived for the wedding.
A flock of sheep	Group of sheep	The shepherd guided his flock of sheep to pasture.

Examples of Collective Nouns for Things

Collective Noun	Thing(s)	Example Sentence
Bunch	Keys, Grapes, Flowers	I lost a bunch of keys on the road.
Heap	Sand, Trash, Clothes	A heap of laundry lay in the corner.
Troupe	Performers, Acrobats	A troupe of dancers performed on stage.
Kit	Tools, Supplies, Gear	He bought a first-aid kit for emergencies.
Portfolio	Artwork, Investments	Her portfolio of designs was stunning.
Batch	Cakes, Orders, Emails	A fresh batch of cookies just came out of the oven.

Collective nouns aren’t just for people or animals they’re equally powerful and poetic when used for things. Understanding and using these correctly can elevate your communication skills, whether you’re writing a report, telling a story, or organizing your speech.

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