colluded; colluding; colludes
: to work together secretly especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest : conspire, plot
It was arithmetically possible, too, for a handful of senators … to collude with the president to approve a treaty betraying some vital interest to a foreign power.—
Jack N. Rakove
Jack N. Rakove… the travails of the world's two biggest art-auction businesses, … rivals that now stand accused by the U.S. Justice Department of colluding to rig the auction market by fixing their sales-commission rates.—Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes… argues that while the kids are not entitled to collective representation, major universities are permitted to collude to prevent players from being paid for their work.—David Sirota
David Sirota
Did you know?
Collude Has Latin Roots
The Latin prefix col-, meaning "together," and the verb ludere, "to play," come together to form collude. The related noun collusion has the specific meaning "secret agreement or cooperation." Despite their playful history, collude and collusion have always suggested deceit or trickery rather than good-natured fun.
Synonyms
Examples of collude in a Sentence
The two companies had colluded to fix prices.
accused of colluding to block the sale of the vacant land
Recent Examples on the Web
When choices were available between lower- and higher-priced drugs, the manufacturers and PBMs colluded to raise the price of prescriptions and exclude the cheaper options, according to the lawsuit.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2025
Trump initially praised Wray after firing former Director James Comey amid the FBI’s investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Dec. 2024
Adam Schiff Schiff, a Democrat and the former chair of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, often claimed during the former president’s first term that his campaign had colluded with Russia.
—Margie Cullen, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
Conservatives say Big Tech colluded with Democrats Multiple lawsuits have accused the Biden administration of leaning on social media platforms to take down lawful speech about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
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Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2025
Trump initially praised Wray after firing former Director James Comey amid the FBI’s investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.
—Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Dec. 2024
Adam Schiff Schiff, a Democrat and the former chair of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, often claimed during the former president’s first term that his campaign had colluded with Russia.
—Margie Cullen, USA TODAY, 7 Dec. 2024
Conservatives say Big Tech colluded with Democrats Multiple lawsuits have accused the Biden administration of leaning on social media platforms to take down lawful speech about the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for collude
Dictionary Entries Near collude
Cite this Entry
“Collude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collude. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
collude
intransitive verb
col·lude
kə-ˈlüd 
colluded; colluding
: to agree or cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or otherwise illegal purpose
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