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
Kaepernick later filed suit against the NFL, accusing teams of colluding to keep him from playing, and settled earlier this year, according to his attorney.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
Kim has increasingly lashed out at South Korea this year, accusing Seoul of colluding with Washington to seek the collapse of his regime, and has pushed for a clear break with decades of policy engagement with the South, including the scrapping of unification as a goal.
—Reuters, NBC News, 18 Oct. 2024
But part of it may be due to corporate landlords colluding with one another, according to Stoller.
—Byalena Botros, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
The debate has dredged up the contentious history of how Dutch police and security services colluded with German invaders by handing over lists of radical and left-leaning political opponents.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2024
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Ben Morse, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
Kim has increasingly lashed out at South Korea this year, accusing Seoul of colluding with Washington to seek the collapse of his regime, and has pushed for a clear break with decades of policy engagement with the South, including the scrapping of unification as a goal.
—Reuters, NBC News, 18 Oct. 2024
But part of it may be due to corporate landlords colluding with one another, according to Stoller.
—Byalena Botros, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2024
The debate has dredged up the contentious history of how Dutch police and security services colluded with German invaders by handing over lists of radical and left-leaning political opponents.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 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 24 Nov. 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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