colluded; colluding; colludes
: to work together secretly especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest : conspire, plot
It was arithmetically possible, too, for a handful of senators … to collude with the president to approve a treaty betraying some vital interest to a foreign power.—
Jack N. Rakove
Jack N. Rakove… 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
Thomas Jefferson and his co-partisans accused Alexander Hamilton and his supporters of colluding with stock-jobbers to line their pockets.
—Kevin R. Kosar, The Washington Examiner, 4 July 2025
The possibility of pro team owners colluding on player contracts is not so far-fetched when considering pro sports history.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 June 2025
If so, anything goes California’s war on cars is really just a war on free people
When politicians and developers collude, no one’s property is safe
At the height of its power, even the mighty Roman Empire could not stare down a collapsing economy and a burgeoning military.
—John Whitehead, Oc Register, 21 June 2025
Yellen colluded with the other OECD nations on a corporate tax increase that would be felt by the U.S.’s biggest, most multinational of corporations.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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Kevin R. Kosar, The Washington Examiner, 4 July 2025
The possibility of pro team owners colluding on player contracts is not so far-fetched when considering pro sports history.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 June 2025
If so, anything goes California’s war on cars is really just a war on free people
When politicians and developers collude, no one’s property is safe
At the height of its power, even the mighty Roman Empire could not stare down a collapsing economy and a burgeoning military.
—John Whitehead, Oc Register, 21 June 2025
Yellen colluded with the other OECD nations on a corporate tax increase that would be felt by the U.S.’s biggest, most multinational of corporations.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 June 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 18 Jul. 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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