collude

verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding; colludes

intransitive verb

: 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

… 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

… 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

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

• compass
• connive
• conspire
• contrive
• intrigue
• machinate
• plot
• put up
• scheme

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

By the time Lively actually filed a lawsuit against the Wayfarer Parties, the damage to the Wayfarer Parties was done by virtue of Lively’s months of colluding with the New York Times on a false and malicious narrative unshielded by any privilege. —Tracy Wright, Fox News, 12 Feb. 2025

Drake sued Universal Music Group and Spotify, claiming the companies colluded to boost the song’s popularity. —Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2025

Colleges permit student transfers so long as a school decides to admit a student and agrees to accept all or some of their credits–in other words, a transfer is an academic matter that each school decides on its own, rather than by colluding with other colleges on allowable rules. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Feb. 2025

Justin Baldoni has amended his counterclaim suit against Blake Lively, which names Ryan Reynolds, The New York Times, and others as defendants, and claims Lively and her PR team colluded with the Times for months to smear him. —Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin colludere, from com- + ludere to play, from ludus game — more at ludicrous

First Known Use

1525, in the meaning defined above

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Legal Definition

collude

intransitive verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding

: to agree or cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or otherwise illegal purpose