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
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
But even a glimpse of the history shows how city leaders, school officials, real estate interests and overtly violent racists colluded to maintain segregation and inequality in cities such as Chicago.
—Erik Wallenberg, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
In the fall, dozens of school districts across multiple states, including Oceanside Unified, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against several pharmaceutical companies, PBMs and UnitedHealthcare, also accusing them of colluding to inflate insulin prices.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2025
The Canadian rapper previously sued both UMG and a major music streaming platform last year, accusing them of colluding to prioritize one of Lamar's songs over his own.
—Michael D. Carroll and Erin Keller, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for collude 
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Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
But even a glimpse of the history shows how city leaders, school officials, real estate interests and overtly violent racists colluded to maintain segregation and inequality in cities such as Chicago.
—Erik Wallenberg, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025
In the fall, dozens of school districts across multiple states, including Oceanside Unified, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against several pharmaceutical companies, PBMs and UnitedHealthcare, also accusing them of colluding to inflate insulin prices.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2025
The Canadian rapper previously sued both UMG and a major music streaming platform last year, accusing them of colluding to prioritize one of Lamar's songs over his own.
—Michael D. Carroll and Erin Keller, Newsweek, 15 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 28 Jan. 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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