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
Lai pleaded not guilty to a sedition charge and two counts of colluding with foreign forces, a crime punishable by life in prison under the national security law.
—Chris Lau, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Farmers are too numerous to collude like this.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 2025
Zeta Tijuana, an investigative magazine, reported in 2023 that Huerta’s Arellano Félix cell had colluded with corrupt Tijuana police officers to steal a massive drug shipment from a rival Sinaloa faction — an episode that prompted cartel hitmen to hunt down and kill the dirty cops.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
Actors may be influenced by emotion or misinformation, collude or form cartels, misunderstand incentives or lack information.
—Ali Faizan Rizvi, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for collude
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Chris Lau, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Farmers are too numerous to collude like this.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 17 Aug. 2025
Zeta Tijuana, an investigative magazine, reported in 2023 that Huerta’s Arellano Félix cell had colluded with corrupt Tijuana police officers to steal a massive drug shipment from a rival Sinaloa faction — an episode that prompted cartel hitmen to hunt down and kill the dirty cops.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
Actors may be influenced by emotion or misinformation, collude or form cartels, misunderstand incentives or lack information.
—Ali Faizan Rizvi, Forbes.com, 23 July 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 9 Sep. 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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