What is a grouping of a variable number of data items that share significance called?

The term used to describe a grouping of a variable number of data items that share significance is a collection. In programming and computer science, a collection refers to a data structure that can hold multiple items, usually of the same type or related in some way, allowing for easy management and manipulation of these items. Collections are designed to be flexible, supporting operations such as adding, removing, and accessing elements, which aligns with the concept of a variable number of data items.

In contrast, while other terms like cluster, map, and list do refer to specific ways to organize data, they do not fully encompass the broad, flexible nature of a collection. A cluster typically implies a grouping based on proximity or similarity, a map usually indicates a structure of key-value pairs for efficient data retrieval, and a list refers to an ordered sequence of items. Thus, collection is the most comprehensive and appropriate answer for a variable grouping of data items that share significance.