What does the collective noun budget mean?

"Budget" is not a collective noun in the traditional sense. Collective nouns refer to a group of people or things (like a flock of birds, a herd of cows, or a team of players).

While a "budget" can encompass a collection of financial items, it's not a noun that describes a group of things in the same way as those examples. Instead, "budget" is a singular noun that refers to:

* A plan for spending money: This is the most common meaning.

* An amount of money available for spending: "We're working on a tight budget this year."

The term "budget" is often used with a plural form, as in "budgets for each department," but this simply refers to multiple budget plans, not a collective noun.