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
Prosecutors said several other sergeants and deputies — who were not identified in court records — colluded with Benza to protect him.
—Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Despite having some of the most talented executives in the world, the organization unconsciously colluded to avoid difficult truths.
—Michael Hudson, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
Zoom in: The theory of the case is that the three investors — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street — illegally colluded to force a group of public coal-mining companies to produce less coal.
—Felix Salmon, Axios, 2 Dec. 2024
In an interview, Justice Toffoli said his decisions were based on prior rulings by his Supreme Court colleagues that Car Wash investigators, prosecutors and judges had illegally colluded, invalidating the evidence collected.
—Jack Nicas, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for collude 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Despite having some of the most talented executives in the world, the organization unconsciously colluded to avoid difficult truths.
—Michael Hudson, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
Zoom in: The theory of the case is that the three investors — BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street — illegally colluded to force a group of public coal-mining companies to produce less coal.
—Felix Salmon, Axios, 2 Dec. 2024
In an interview, Justice Toffoli said his decisions were based on prior rulings by his Supreme Court colleagues that Car Wash investigators, prosecutors and judges had illegally colluded, invalidating the evidence collected.
—Jack Nicas, New York Times, 24 Nov. 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 30 Dec. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share