Word of the Day
: August 30, 2016collude
playWhat It Means
collude in Context
"Two forestry companies colluded for more than a decade to control the prices of toilet paper and other products following a meeting at a golf course to end a price war, according to Chile's competitive practices regulator." — The Observer-Dispatch (Utica, New York), 30 Oct. 2015
"If you collude in business or if you collude in the stock market, they put you in jail." — Donald Trump, speaking on MSNBC, 25 Apr. 2016
Did You Know?
Our English "lude" words (allude, collude, delude, elude, and prelude) are based on the Latin verb ludere, meaning "to play." Collude dates back to 1525 and combines ludere and the prefix col-, meaning "with" or "together." The verb is younger than the related noun collusion, which appeared sometime in the 14th century with 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.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Word Family Quiz
Fill in the blanks to create a noun derived from Latin ludere that can refer to a preliminary trial or introductory discourse: p _ _ l _ _ ion.
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