colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkä-(ˌ)lēg 
: an associate or coworker typically in a profession or in a civil or ecclesiastical office and often of similar rank or status : a fellow worker or professional
Did you know?
Which of the following words come from the same source as colleague: college, legacy, collaborate, allegation, collar, relegate, delegate? It might be easier to guess if you know that the ancestor in question is legare, a Latin verb meaning "to choose or send as a deputy or emissary" or "to bequeath." All of the words in the list above except collaborate (which comes from the Latin collaborare, meaning "to labor together") and collar (from collum, collus, Latin for "neck") are descendants of legare.
Examples of colleague in a Sentence
Not since Cronkite's CBS mentor and colleague Edward R. Murrow lifted Senator Joe McCarthy by the skunk tail for public inspection had one TV broadcast reflected such a fateful climate change in public opinion.
—
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, June 2003
My colleague Gene Sperling and I were standing over my speakerphone, but for all Mario Cuomo knew we were on our knees.
—George Stephanopoulos, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 1999
Nineteenth-century naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley, a colleague of Charles Darwin, was the first to suggest that dinosaurs and birds were related.
—Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report, 6 July 1998
… it gets noticed no more than an hour later by another colleague of mine, whom I've never met personally but know to be an art historian …
—John Barth, Atlantic, March 1995
A colleague of mine will be speaking at the conference.
on her first day at work her colleagues went out of their way to make her feel welcome
James Wolcott, Vanity Fair, June 2003
My colleague Gene Sperling and I were standing over my speakerphone, but for all Mario Cuomo knew we were on our knees.
—George Stephanopoulos, Newsweek, 15 Mar. 1999
Nineteenth-century naturalist Thomas Henry Huxley, a colleague of Charles Darwin, was the first to suggest that dinosaurs and birds were related.
—Laura Tangley, U.S. News & World Report, 6 July 1998
… it gets noticed no more than an hour later by another colleague of mine, whom I've never met personally but know to be an art historian …
—John Barth, Atlantic, March 1995
A colleague of mine will be speaking at the conference.
on her first day at work her colleagues went out of their way to make her feel welcome
Recent Examples on the Web
But Xu and her colleagues would need far more evidence than just two people in a trial that enrolled a total of eight, so that research remains ongoing.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA Today, 19 May 2025
For these more serious cases, Soni and his colleagues work closely with the university’s mental-health center and even walk students to a counselor’s door themselves.
—Cornelia Powers, The Atlantic, 18 May 2025
Recently, Schmitz and her colleagues published a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealing that children exposed to paternal depression around age five are far more likely to experience behavioral challenges in grade school.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
Police believe Johnson was shot around 2 p.m. While a patrolman was writing a report at the Gary Police Station, 555 Polk St., a man who matched the one seen on the video walked by him and a colleague.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for colleague
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Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA Today, 19 May 2025
For these more serious cases, Soni and his colleagues work closely with the university’s mental-health center and even walk students to a counselor’s door themselves.
—Cornelia Powers, The Atlantic, 18 May 2025
Recently, Schmitz and her colleagues published a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, revealing that children exposed to paternal depression around age five are far more likely to experience behavioral challenges in grade school.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
Police believe Johnson was shot around 2 p.m. While a patrolman was writing a report at the Gary Police Station, 555 Polk St., a man who matched the one seen on the video walked by him and a colleague.
—Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for colleague
Cite this Entry
“Colleague.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colleague. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkäl-ˌēg
: an associate in a profession or office
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