conspire

verb

con·​spire kən-ˈspī(-ə)r 

conspired; conspiring

transitive verb

: plot, contrive

intransitive verb

1

a

: to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement

accused of conspiring to overthrow the government

conspired to monopolize and restrict trade

b

: scheme

2

: to act in harmony toward a common end

Circumstances conspired to defeat his efforts.

… the sun and the wind conspired to make splinters out of solid wood.

—B. J. Oliphant

Synonyms of conspire

• plot
• scheme

Examples of conspire in a Sentence

conspired to replace the leader with someone more easily influenced

foul weather and airline foul-ups seemed to be conspiring to ruin our vacation

Recent Examples on the Web

Miller was accused, along with his former Chief Financial Officer Anosh Ahmed, of conspiring to accept checks and money transfers from Suhail in exchange for the award of contracts and other hospital business to Suhail’s companies. — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026

The second is that colleges and conferences are competing businesses that conspire through NCAA rules to limit how each can compete for college athletes’ services. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 25 Aug. 2026

The announcement says at least some of the individuals conspired to sell Nvidia’s B300 systems, which use its latest Blackwell architecture, but have been barred from export to China. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 24 Aug. 2026

Ludlow pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to embezzle union funds in 2006. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French conspirer, from Latin conspirare to be in harmony, conspire, from com- + spirare to breathe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for conspire

• briar
• brier
• buyer
• choir
• crier
• cryer
• drier
• dryer
• eyer
• flier
• flyer
• friar

Kids Definition

conspire

verb

con·​spire kən-ˈspī(ə)r 

conspired; conspiring

1

: to agree secretly to do an unlawful act : plot

conspiring to overthrow the dictator

2

: to act together

delays and the weather conspired to spoil our vacation

Legal Definition

conspire

intransitive verb

con·​spire kən-ˈspīr 

conspired; conspiring

: to join in a conspiracy compare solicit

Etymology

Latin conspirare to be in harmony, to join in an unlawful agreement, from com- together + spirare to breathe