Collect or congregate is a term used to describe the act of gathering people or objects together. It is often used in the context of bringing people together for a common purpose, such as a meeting or event. The term can also be used to refer to the act of gathering objects, such as collecting items for a project or hobby. The 8-letter crossword solution for this term is 'ASSEMBLE, ' which means to bring together components or parts in order to create a whole.