collude

verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding; colludes

intransitive verb

: 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

… 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

… 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

Did you know?

Collude Has Latin Roots

Colluding—working secretly with others to do something deceitful or illegal—is not a game, but you'd never know it if you took your cues on the meaning of collude solely from its etymology. Collude comes from the Latin verb colludere, which in turn combines the prefix com-, meaning "together," and the verb ludere, "to play." Ludere, in turn, comes from ludus, meaning "game, play, or sport." (Ludus is also the source of the adjective ludicrous and the noun interlude). Collude has a related noun—collusion—which carries the specific meaning "secret agreement or cooperation." Despite their playful history, collude and collusion have always suggested illicit trickery rather than good-natured fun.

Synonyms of collude

• plot
• conspire
• scheme

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

During the rally in sweltering heat, Vucic told his backers, many bused in from across the country, that students and anti-government protesters were aiming to destroy the country, and accused them of colluding with unnamed foreign powers, charges the protesters deny. — Reuters, CNN Money, 27 June 2026

Uber contends this arrangement has created an incentive for doctors and attorneys to collude to dramatically inflate medical bills. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026

Algeria lodged a protest with FIFA, but an investigation turned up no concrete evidence of the two teams truly colluding in a fix. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 24 June 2026

Now, the commission is investigating whether major manufacturers colluded to take advantage of inflation and raise their prices above the increase in the cost of raw ingredients, according to Kyodo News. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 22 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin collūdere "to play (with), make sport, (in law) act in collusion with," from col- col- + lūdere "to play" — more at ludicrous

First Known Use

1525, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for collude

• accrued
• allude
• conclude
• construed
• debuted
• delude
• elude
• endued
• ensued
• eschewed
• etude
• exclude

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Legal Definition

collude

intransitive verb

col·​lude kə-ˈlüd 

colluded; colluding

: to agree or cooperate secretly for a fraudulent or otherwise illegal purpose