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
Some, like the Alawite Shiite Muslim faction to which Assad’s family belonged, as well as some Kurds and Christians, are seen as having colluded with the regime.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2024
Masimo’s lawsuit claims that Kiani and RTW colluded to artificially increase RTW’s voting power before the proxy battle by both buying stock and acquiring a short position, then unwinding the trades immediately after the company’s annual meeting.
—Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Both leaders denied any conspiracy to influence the vote, and a subsequent inquiry found no proof that Trump criminally colluded with Russia.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2024
The logic behind the decision, per the FTC, was that both men had communicated with the oil cartel OPEC in order to collude on setting crude prices worldwide.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 10 Oct. 2024
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Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2024
Masimo’s lawsuit claims that Kiani and RTW colluded to artificially increase RTW’s voting power before the proxy battle by both buying stock and acquiring a short position, then unwinding the trades immediately after the company’s annual meeting.
—Sergei Klebnikov, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024
Both leaders denied any conspiracy to influence the vote, and a subsequent inquiry found no proof that Trump criminally colluded with Russia.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 6 Nov. 2024
The logic behind the decision, per the FTC, was that both men had communicated with the oil cartel OPEC in order to collude on setting crude prices worldwide.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 10 Oct. 2024
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 22 Dec. 2024.
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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