collaborator

noun

col·​lab·​o·​ra·​tor kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrā-tər 

: a person who collaborates with another: such as

a

: someone who works with another person or group

They thanked their collaborators on the project.

With our students and collaborators, we have developed … a tool that couples a video camera with specialized computation.

—Frédo Durand et al.

b

: someone who assists an enemy (such as an invader or part of an occupying force)

… the Germans had allies and collaborators who, whether from conviction or perceived necessity, sought a privileged place in Hitler's New Order.

—Robert Skidelsky

Examples of collaborator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The couple married in 1963 and become known as Nazi hunters, tracking down former Nazi officials and Vichy collaborators, including Kurt Lischka, Ernst Ehlers, Kurt Asche and Maurice Papon, in addition to Barbie. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026

In nearly four decades in the industry, Panettiere did it all, and her many co-stars and collaborators were quick to share their memories and tributes upon her passing. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2026

Lena Dunham co-wrote the book alongside playwright Jessica Huang (Mother of Exiles), and the score is co-written by undisputed pop-music genius Carly Rae Jepsen with frequent Phoebe Bridgers collaborator Ethan Gruska. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026

In 2020, Andrew Lucas, a physicist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and his collaborators spotted new symmetries in the fracton phase and used the effective field theory framework to derive a fracton version of the Navier-Stokes equations. — Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for collaborator

• accelerator
• accumulator
• adjudicator
• administrator
• appropriator
• articulator
• attenuator
• bronchodilator
• communicator
• conciliator
• cooperator
• coordinator