colluded; colluding; colludes
: to work together secretly especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest : conspire, plot
… the owners started to collude loosely on salaries for free agents.—
William Oscar Johnson and Albert Kim
William Oscar Johnson and Albert Kim… the travails of the world's two biggest art-auction businesses, … rivals that now stand accused by the U.S. Justice Department of colluding to rig the auction market by fixing their sales-commission rates.—Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes… argues that while the kids are not entitled to collective representation, major universities are permitted to collude to prevent players from being paid for their work.—David Sirota
David Sirota
Did you know?
Collude Has Latin Roots
The Latin prefix col-, meaning "together," and the verb ludere, "to play," come together to form collude. The related noun collusion has the specific meaning "secret agreement or cooperation." Despite their playful history, collude and collusion have always suggested deceit or trickery rather than good-natured fun.
Examples of collude in a Sentence
The two companies had colluded to fix prices.
accused of colluding to block the sale of the vacant land
Recent Examples on the Web
The complaint goes on to allege that during the tenure of Viktor Yanukovych, senior officials of the National Bank of Ukraine colluded in the theft of funds from Ukraine.
—Olena Loginova, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
There are people high up there who’re trying to hide or collude with each other so that they are not held accountable.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
According to the movie, closely adapted by Roman Polanski from a 1967 novel by Ira Levin, Guy has colluded with the neighbors to have Rosemary raped and impregnated by Satan.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Moses Swaibu, a low-level English soccer player who was convicted, in 2015, of colluding with gamblers, scoffed at that idea, and told me that pro athletes can change the outcome of a play just by standing a foot out of position.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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Olena Loginova, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
There are people high up there who’re trying to hide or collude with each other so that they are not held accountable.
—Chad De Guzman, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
According to the movie, closely adapted by Roman Polanski from a 1967 novel by Ira Levin, Guy has colluded with the neighbors to have Rosemary raped and impregnated by Satan.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025
Moses Swaibu, a low-level English soccer player who was convicted, in 2015, of colluding with gamblers, scoffed at that idea, and told me that pro athletes can change the outcome of a play just by standing a foot out of position.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
Cite this Entry
“Collude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collude. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
collude
intransitive verb
col·lude
kə-ˈlüd 
colluded; colluding
: to agree or cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or otherwise illegal purpose
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