collude

verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding; colludes

intransitive verb

: 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

… 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

… 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

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

• compass
• connive
• conspire
• contrive
• intrigue
• machinate
• plot
• put up
• scheme

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

Advertisement With an attorney on the plaintiffs’ side of the lawsuit colluding with the city’s team, the claims could be settled on terms favorable to the DWP. —Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2024

City Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Omar Torres and David Cohen have proposed an ordinance that would ban rent or occupancy-setting tools like RealPage, which the Department of Justice recently accused of allegedly allowing landlords to collude on rental prices. —Devan Patel, The Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2024

Meanwhile, many who got burned by the meme-stock craze unfairly accused Tenev and Bhatt of colluding with short sellers. —Byjeff John Roberts and Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 30 July 2024

One concern raised by consumer advocates is that the emerging templates contain workarounds allowing buyers to collude with sellers, effectively maintaining the current industry norm in which agents for each side get paid 3 percent of the home sale price. —Julian Mark, Washington Post, 29 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin colludere, from com- + ludere to play, from ludus game — more at ludicrous

First Known Use

1525, in the meaning defined above

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Legal Definition

collude

intransitive verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding

: to agree or cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or otherwise illegal purpose