cooperate

verb

co·​op·​er·​ate kō-ˈä-pə-ˌrāt 

cooperated; cooperating; cooperates

intransitive verb

1

: to act or work with another or others : act together or in compliance

refused to cooperate with the police

2

: to associate with another or others for mutual benefit

nations cooperating to fight terrorism

cooperator

kō-ˈä-pə-ˌrā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of cooperate

• collaborate
• unite

Examples of cooperate in a Sentence

It will be much easier if everyone cooperates.

Several organizations cooperated in the relief efforts.

The country agreed to cooperate with the other nations on the trade agreement.

The mother asked the child to put on his pajamas, but the child refused to cooperate.

Witnesses were willing to cooperate.

Recent Examples on the Web

The school said that the national chapter is cooperating with the investigation. — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2026

The driver who was involved stayed at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, according to Reinert. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026

The allegations have not been proven, and prosecutors do not say in their filing that Flores has threatened or attempted to intimidate any cooperating witness since her arrest. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026

The Chinese leader underscored the need for the two countries to cooperate on AI. — Kevin Breuninger,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 25 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin cooperatus, past participle of cooperari, from Latin co- + operari to work — more at operate

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cooperate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

cooperate

verb

co·​op·​er·​ate kō-ˈäp-(ə-)ˌrāt 

cooperated; cooperating

: to act, work, or associate with others so as to get something done