stamp collecting 
noun [mass noun]
The collection and study of postage stamps as objects of interest or value; philately.Edna, 71, from South Croydon, has always been interested in stamp collecting and now spends at least five evenings week sorting them into categories and themes....
- His meticulous character suited his outside interests of coin and stamp collecting, chess, genealogy, and Scottish history.
- Decades later, when Worley was in his late 40s, his young daughter took what proved to be a short-lived interest in stamp collecting.
Synonyms
philately
archaic timbrophily, timbromania
Derivatives
stamp collector
- A quiet and reserved man, Sandy continued his favourite hobby of Scottish country dancing, was a keen stamp collector and reader, and a member of the local Rotary club.
- A lifelong stamp collector as well as a professional historian, Dane Claussen hopes the embrace of eBay among many scholars may encourage historians to seek out private collectors for research assistance.
- Aravamuthan, a keen coin and stamp collector as well as a dealer in rare stamps and ancient coins, avers that philately has become a rich-man's hobby.