collaborate

verb

col·​lab·​o·​rate kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio)
collaborated; collaborating

intransitive verb

1
: to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor
An international team of scientists collaborated on the study.
2
: to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and especially an occupying force
suspected of collaborating with the enemy
3
: to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected
The two schools collaborate on library services.
collaboration noun
collaborative
kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrā-tiv
-b(ə-)rə- How to pronounce collaborate (audio)
adjective or noun
collaboratively adverb

Did you know?

The Latin prefix com-, meaning "with, together, or jointly," is a bit of a chameleon—it has a tricky habit of changing its appearance depending on what it's next to. If the word it precedes begins with l, com- becomes col- (as in colleague, collect, and collide). In the case of collaborate, com- teamed up with laborare ("to labor") to form Late Latin collaborare ("to labor together").

Example Sentences

The two companies agreed to collaborate. He was suspected of collaborating with the occupying army.
Recent Examples on the Web Truman collaborated with his parents on A Man Called Otto, the 2022 film produced by his mom and starring his dad. Kara Nesvig, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023 Harford and Cecil community colleges host Maryland Scholars Summit Harford Community College and Cecil College collaborated to host the third-annual Maryland Scholars Summit at Harford Community College. Katia Parks, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2023 Intel is collaborating on a private AI model for Boston Consulting Group, IBM plans to step into the arena with Watsonx AI, and existing services like Amazon’s Sagemaker and Microsoft’s Azure ML are evolving in response to demand. IEEE Spectrum, 16 May 2023 The duo first collaborated in 2012 on Affleck’s Best Picture–winning Argo, in which Messina had a supporting role as a CIA officer. Derek Lawrence, Vulture, 15 May 2023 The affiliated soccer clubs announced an official partnership with the African American Sports & Entertainment Group to collaborate and expand AASEG's attempts to host a range of sports at the Oakland Coliseum site. Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 May 2023 Whether their meeting was romantic or platonic, the two artists remained connected through the years, collaborating on music and openly supporting one another’s work. Sabrina Park, Harper's BAZAAR, 12 May 2023 Celebrate Failures And Encourage Vulnerability Companies well-poised for success are those that realize the power of psychological safety and teamwork in creating environments where individuals collaborate and share information. Expert Panel®, Forbes, 5 May 2023 In November, Felix & Paul collaborated with NASA, Meta and other tech shops to broadcast the first Artemis launch in real time to a worldwide audience in high-resolution 8K. Future Artemis missions are expected to send astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time in 50 years. Peter Caranicas, Variety, 5 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'collaborate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin collaboratus, past participle of collaborare to labor together, from Latin com- + laborare to labor — more at labor

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of collaborate was in 1871

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near collaborate

Cite this Entry

“Collaborate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collaborate. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

collaborate

verb
col·​lab·​o·​rate kə-ˈlab-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio)
collaborated; collaborating
1
: to work with others (as in writing a book)
2
: to cooperate with an enemy force that has taken over one's country
collaboration noun
collaborationist
-sh(ə-)nəst
noun
collaborator noun

Legal Definition

collaborate

intransitive verb
col·​lab·​o·​rate kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio)
collaborated; collaborating
: to work jointly with others in some endeavor

More from Merriam-Webster on collaborate

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