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.
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
Lai, 77, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper that was forced to close after a police raid and asset freeze in June 2021, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.
—Reuters, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2025
Bishop has repeatedly leaned into this history, conflating his situation with those of vaunted Civil Rights leaders, and blaming criticism or law enforcement on shadowy forces colluding to silence him.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
Then the three teens colluded to dispose of the evidence.
—Laura Barcella, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Those risks center on potential rage at home if the rulers are seen as colluding in the destruction of a discrete Palestinian people — as well as the capacity of an influx of Palestinian activists to cause internal instability.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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Reuters, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2025
Bishop has repeatedly leaned into this history, conflating his situation with those of vaunted Civil Rights leaders, and blaming criticism or law enforcement on shadowy forces colluding to silence him.
—David Peisner, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2025
Then the three teens colluded to dispose of the evidence.
—Laura Barcella, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Those risks center on potential rage at home if the rulers are seen as colluding in the destruction of a discrete Palestinian people — as well as the capacity of an influx of Palestinian activists to cause internal instability.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
Cite this Entry
“Collude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collude. Accessed 30 Mar. 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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