collude

[ kuh-lood ]

verb (used without object)

, col·lud·ed, col·lud·ing.

1. to act together through a secret understanding, especially with evil or harmful intent.
2. to conspire in a fraud.

collude

/ kəˈluːd /

verb

1. intr to conspire together, esp in planning a fraud; connive

Derived Forms

• colˈluder, noun

Other Words From

• col·lud·er noun
• pre·col·lude verb (used without object) precolluded precolluding

Word History and Origins

Origin of collude¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Latin collūdere “to play together,” equivalent to col- col- ¹ + lūdere “to play”

Word History and Origins

Origin of collude¹

C16: from Latin collūdere, literally: to play together, hence, conspire together, from com- together + lūdere to play

Example Sentences

“Well before Mueller finished his report, I said it may be that Mueller concludes he can’t prosecute, but that doesn’t mean there’s not evidence that the Trump campaign tried to collude with the Russians. And that’s exactly what Mueller ended up saying.”

From Los Angeles Times

But labour rights activists allege that many of them underpay and overwork their Indian employees and collude with state governments to clamp down on workers' rights.

From BBC

A Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, filed at the end of August, claims that RealPage, a company that supplies management software to operators of apartment buildings, is helping some of the country’s largest landlords collude to raise rents.

From Slate

"Some corporate landlords collude with each other to set artificially high rental prices, often using algorithms and price-fixing software to do it.It's anticompetitive, and it drives up costs," Harris said in a speech in North Carolina earlier this month.

From Salon

Rising profits have spurred violence and corruption as some local authorities collude with organized crime groups to expand the market.

From Salon

Related Words

• connive