collar Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a band that fits around the neck and is usually folded over
    neckband.
  2. noun (zoology) an encircling band or marking around the neck of any animal
  3. noun anything worn or placed about the neck
    • the thief was forced to wear a heavy wooden collar
    • a collar of flowers was placed about the neck of the winning horse
  4. noun a short ring fastened over a rod or shaft to limit, guide, or secure a machine part
  5. noun the stitching that forms the rim of a shoe or boot
    shoe collar.
  6. noun a band of leather or rope that is placed around an animal's neck as a harness or to identify it
  7. noun necklace that fits tightly around a woman's neck
    dog collar; neckband; choker.
  8. noun a figurative restraint
    leash.
    • asked for a collar on program trading in the stock market
    • kept a tight leash on his emotions
    • he's always gotten a long leash
  9. noun the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)
    taking into custody; apprehension; pinch; arrest; catch.
    • the policeman on the beat got credit for the collar
  10. verb take into custody
    nab; cop; pick up; apprehend; nail; arrest.
    • the police nabbed the suspected criminals
  11. verb seize by the neck or collar
  12. verb furnish with a collar
    • collar the dog

WordNet

Col"lar noun
Etymology
OE. coler, coller, OF. colier, F. collier, necklace, collar, fr. OF. col neck, F. cou, fr. L. collum; akin to AS. heals, G. & Goth. hals. Cf. Hals, n.
Definitions
  1. Something worn round the neck, whether for use, ornament, restraint, or identification; as, the collar of a coat; a lady's collar; the collar of a dog.
  2. (Arch.) (a) A ring or cinture. (b) A collar beam.
  3. (Bot.) The neck or line of junction between the root of a plant and its stem. Gray.
  4. An ornament worn round the neck by knights, having on it devises to designate their rank or order.
  5. (Zoöl.) (a) A ringlike part of a mollusk in connection with esophagus. (b) A colored ring round the neck of a bird or mammal.
  6. (Mech.) A ring or round flange upon, surrounding, or against an object, and used for rastraining motion within given limits, or for holding something to its place, or for hibing an opening around an object; as, a collar on a shaft, used to prevent endwise motion of the shaft; a collar surrounding a stovepipe at the place where it enters a wall. The flanges of a piston and the gland of a stuffing box are sometimes called collars.
  7. (Naut.) An eye formed in the bight or bend of a shroud or stay to go over the masthead; also, a rope to which certain parts of rigging, as dead-eyes, are secured.
  8. (Mining) A curb, or a horizontal timbering, around the mouth of a shaft. Raymond. Spenser.
Col"lar transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Collared ; present participle & verbal noun Collaring
Definitions
  1. To seize by the collar.
  2. To put a collar on.

Webster 1913