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 lawsuit accuses the federal government of reneging on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after the surge of some 3,000 federal law enforcement officers into Minnesota. —Mark Vancleave, Twin Cities, 13 Apr. 2026

The driver remained on the scene and cooperated with the investigation, police said. —Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026

The Justice Department credited IBM for cooperating in its investigation and for ending DEI programs. —ArsTechnica, 13 Apr. 2026

The lawsuit accuses the federal government of reneging on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after the surge of around 3,000 federal law enforcement officers into Minnesota. —Mark Vancleave, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 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

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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