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

colleagueship

ˈkä-(ˌ)lēg-ˌship 

noun

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.

Synonyms

• associate
• confrere
• confrère
• coworker

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Interviewees include Rather’s daughter, Robin, as well as colleagues such as former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky and other notable figures from the world of broadcast news. —Michael Schneider, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

Some were also colleagues and friends of Winfield Scott Hancock, who as quartermaster was charged with protecting Union armaments in Los Angeles. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

Dunst portrays her with no light in her eyes, especially when compared to her colleagues Joel and Jessie. —Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Apr. 2024

Manrique knelt on a toilet in a dark bathroom stall, huddled silently next to her two colleagues. —Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024

Trump’s proposals, if enacted, could easily set off a new trade war with China and potentially other nations, too, reports my colleague Matt Egan. —Krystal Hur, CNN, 12 Apr. 2024

As my colleague David French has noted, the approach that Israel has employed in Gaza in recent months — destroying the enemy but ignoring civilian needs for security and basic necessities — replicates the strategy that led to disaster in the early years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq. —Bret Stephens, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

Decisive days on Capitol Hill, too, where House Speaker Mike Johnson this week has been deciding how – and whether – to finesse opposition from hard-line Republican colleagues and enable a floor vote to unblock $60 billion in U.S. military aid for Kyiv. —Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2024

Since the midterms, one of these groups, True the Vote, has hosted webinars for activists to learn about challenging the election, my colleague David Gilbert reported earlier this week. —Makena Kelly, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French collegue, from Latin collega, from com- + legare to depute — more at legate

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

colleague

noun

col·​league ˈkäl-ˌēg 

: an associate in a profession or office