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
García Luna was convicted in 2023 in U.S. district court of colluding with the Sinaloa mob and receiving millions of dollars in graft.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Get it? Without getting into the constitutional lines Yellen was arguably crossing, it will just be said that Yellen erred in colluding with other nations to raise taxes not just on individuals in the U.S., but individuals around the world.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
The investigation is seeking to determine whether the group illegally colluded with advertisers.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 23 May 2025
Beijing has repeatedly delayed Lai’s trial on charges of sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces, while Lai is currently serving a sentence of 5 years and 9 months.
—One Free Press Coalition, Time, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
Get it? Without getting into the constitutional lines Yellen was arguably crossing, it will just be said that Yellen erred in colluding with other nations to raise taxes not just on individuals in the U.S., but individuals around the world.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025
The investigation is seeking to determine whether the group illegally colluded with advertisers.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 23 May 2025
Beijing has repeatedly delayed Lai’s trial on charges of sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces, while Lai is currently serving a sentence of 5 years and 9 months.
—One Free Press Coalition, Time, 1 May 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 6 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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