colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkä-(ˌ)lēg 
: an associate or coworker in a workplace or profession and often of similar rank or status : a fellow worker or professional
… team-building exercises can also help colleagues understand one another …—
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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
In a statement, a USPS spokesperson said the organization's thoughts are with the employee's family, friends, and colleagues.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 5 June 2026
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the company respects its colleagues’ right to voice their opinions.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 June 2026
The city has assembled a working group led by former Visit Fort Worth CEO Bob Jameson that will include city council member Beck along with her colleagues District 5 council member Deborah Peoples, District 7 council member Macy Hill, and District 11 council member Jeanette Martinez.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026
Then, Hesham Sallam, my adviser, introduced me to earlier work by paleontologist and geologist Robert Speijer and colleagues who had documented rocks at Qreiya in Egypt that were deposited only about 4 million years after the asteroid impact.
—Sanaa El-Sayed, The Conversation, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for colleague
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Dan Raby, CBS News, 5 June 2026
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in a statement that the company respects its colleagues’ right to voice their opinions.
—Annie Palmer, CNBC, 4 June 2026
The city has assembled a working group led by former Visit Fort Worth CEO Bob Jameson that will include city council member Beck along with her colleagues District 5 council member Deborah Peoples, District 7 council member Macy Hill, and District 11 council member Jeanette Martinez.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026
Then, Hesham Sallam, my adviser, introduced me to earlier work by paleontologist and geologist Robert Speijer and colleagues who had documented rocks at Qreiya in Egypt that were deposited only about 4 million years after the asteroid impact.
—Sanaa El-Sayed, The Conversation, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for colleague
Cite this Entry
“Colleague.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colleague. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
colleague
noun
col·league
ˈkäl-ˌēg
: an associate in a profession or office
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