colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkä-(ˌ)lēg 
: an associate or coworker typically in a profession or in a civil or ecclesiastical office and often of similar rank or status : a fellow worker or professional
Did you know?
Which of the following words come from the same source as colleague: college, legacy, collaborate, allegation, collar, relegate, delegate? It might be easier to guess if you know that the ancestor in question is legare, a Latin verb meaning "to choose or send as a deputy or emissary" or "to bequeath." All of the words in the list above except collaborate (which comes from the Latin collaborare, meaning "to labor together") and collar (from collum, collus, Latin for "neck") are descendants of legare.
Examples of colleague in a Sentence
Not since Cronkite's CBS mentor and colleague Edward R. Murrow lifted Senator Joe McCarthy by the skunk tail for public inspection had one TV broadcast reflected such a fateful climate change in public opinion.
—
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, June 2003
My colleague Gene Sperling and I were standing over my speakerphone, but for all Mario Cuomo knew we were on our knees.
—George Stephanopoulos, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 1999
Nineteenth-century naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley, a colleague of Charles Darwin, was the first to suggest that dinosaurs and birds were related.
—Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report, 6 July 1998
… it gets noticed no more than an hour later by another colleague of mine, whom I've never met personally but know to be an art historian …
—John Barth, Atlantic, March 1995
A colleague of mine will be speaking at the conference.
on her first day at work her colleagues went out of their way to make her feel welcome
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, June 2003
My colleague Gene Sperling and I were standing over my speakerphone, but for all Mario Cuomo knew we were on our knees.
—George Stephanopoulos, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 1999
Nineteenth-century naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley, a colleague of Charles Darwin, was the first to suggest that dinosaurs and birds were related.
—Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report, 6 July 1998
… it gets noticed no more than an hour later by another colleague of mine, whom I've never met personally but know to be an art historian …
—John Barth, Atlantic, March 1995
A colleague of mine will be speaking at the conference.
on her first day at work her colleagues went out of their way to make her feel welcome
Recent Examples on the Web
Beat overcommitment syndrome, get the right things done, and build real influence with your colleagues up, down, sideways, and diagonal—all over the organization chart.
—Bruce Tulgan, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The evening after Jîna’s death, on assignment for the newspaper Ham-Mihan, my friend and colleague Elaheh Mohammadi drove eight hours overnight, through winding mountains and narrow roads, to Saqqez, Jîna’s hometown in Kurdistan.
—Fatemeh Jamalpour, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
In its history, Everybody Loves Raymond, created by Romano and Philip Rosenthal, received 15 Emmys and 69 total nominations, including for Romano, Garrett, and their colleagues Patricia Heaton, and Peter Boyle.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2025
In the sketch, co-starring SNL’s Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, Bargatze plays the inventor of television, making bold pronouncements about what his pioneering device will lead to while fielding questions from his confused colleagues.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colleague
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Bruce Tulgan, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
The evening after Jîna’s death, on assignment for the newspaper Ham-Mihan, my friend and colleague Elaheh Mohammadi drove eight hours overnight, through winding mountains and narrow roads, to Saqqez, Jîna’s hometown in Kurdistan.
—Fatemeh Jamalpour, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025
In its history, Everybody Loves Raymond, created by Romano and Philip Rosenthal, received 15 Emmys and 69 total nominations, including for Romano, Garrett, and their colleagues Patricia Heaton, and Peter Boyle.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2025
In the sketch, co-starring SNL’s Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, Bargatze plays the inventor of television, making bold pronouncements about what his pioneering device will lead to while fielding questions from his confused colleagues.
—Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for colleague
Cite this Entry
“Colleague.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colleague. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkäl-ˌēg
: an associate in a profession or office
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