coauthor

noun

co·​au·​thor (ˌ)kō-ˈȯ-thər 

variants or co-author

plural coauthors or co-authors

: one who collaborates with another person in authoring a literary or dramatic work, a document, a legislative bill, etc.

coauthors of many books and plays

the coauthors of new legislation

coauthor transitive verb

or co-author

coauthored or co-authored; coauthoring or co-authoring

… he coauthored legislation … requiring the publication on the Internet of the cost of all federal contracts, grants, and congressional "earmarks,"…

—Michael Tomasky

a co-authored book

coauthorship

(ˌ)kō-ˈȯ-thər-ˌship 

noun

or co-authorship

… accepting coauthorship on studies to which they did not significantly contribute.

—Mary Murray

Examples of coauthor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Social media and the ‘trap’ effect People are aware of the negative impacts such as feeling sad and anxious due to social media, coauthor Cass Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard Law School, told CNN. —Lily Hautau, CNN Money, 20 Mar. 2026

Although there have been concerns in the past that GLP-1 use may increase the risk of suicidal thinking, this study does not find evidence to support such a link, says coauthor Mark Taylor, MD, a professor at Griffith University School of Medicine in Southport, Queensland, Australia. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 19 Mar. 2026

Drawing on social psychology and burnout research, Rhodes and her coauthors hypothesized that offloading time-consuming, high-stakes accounting responsibilities could meaningfully reduce strain on CFOs. —Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2026

Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, is a principal coauthor of the legislation. —Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for coauthor

• author

Kids Definition

coauthor

noun

co·​au·​thor

(ˈ)kō-ˈȯ-thər

: an author who works with another author