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
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
In a cruel irony, the chaos of homelessness that forces people to prioritize survival, combined with health conditions such as physical disabilities, dementia or serious mental illness, often collude to prevent patients from engaging with the very systems that could end their homelessness.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
In episode two, Alex is ambushed by her bosses and a representative from the network’s legal team, who unearthed footage of Alex colluding with Roya and Arsham inside the UBN studio.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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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
In a cruel irony, the chaos of homelessness that forces people to prioritize survival, combined with health conditions such as physical disabilities, dementia or serious mental illness, often collude to prevent patients from engaging with the very systems that could end their homelessness.
—Sarah Stella, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
In episode two, Alex is ambushed by her bosses and a representative from the network’s legal team, who unearthed footage of Alex colluding with Roya and Arsham inside the UBN studio.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 Sep. 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 7 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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