1 collaborate | Definition of collaborate

collaborate

verb
col·​lab·​o·​rate | \ kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio) \
collaborated; collaborating

Definition of collaborate

intransitive verb

1 : to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor An international team of scientists collaborated on the study.
2 : to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and especially an occupying force suspected of collaborating with the enemy
3 : to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected The two schools collaborate on library services.

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Other Words from collaborate

collaboration \ kə-​ˌla-​bə-​ˈrā-​shən How to pronounce collaboration (audio) \ noun
collaborative \ kə-​ˈla-​bə-​ˌrā-​tiv How to pronounce collaborative (audio) , -​b(ə-​)rə-​ \ adjective or noun
collaboratively \ kə-​ˈla-​bə-​ˌrā-​tiv-​lē How to pronounce collaboratively (audio) , -​b(ə-​)rə-​ \ adverb

Did You Know?

The Latin prefix com-, meaning "with, together, or jointly," is a bit of a chameleon - it has a tricky habit of changing its appearance depending on what it's next to. If the word it precedes begins with "l," "com-" becomes "col-." In the case of collaborate, com- teamed up with laborare ("to labor") to form Late Latin collaborare ("to labor together"). Colleague, collect, and collide are a few more examples of the "com-" to "col-" transformation. Other descendants of laborare in English include elaborate,- _laboratory, and labor itself.

Examples of collaborate in a Sentence

The two companies agreed to collaborate. He was suspected of collaborating with the occupying army.

Recent Examples on the Web

Located in downtown's Garfield Neighborhood, Alwun House provides a space where artists can collaborate, educate and refine their work. Elizabeth Montgomery, azcentral, "Alwun House to transform lot into park with help from $30,000 USA TODAY NETWORK grant," 10 Sep. 2019 The Italian design firm is best known for its work in the automotive realm, collaborating most famously with Ferrari on the F40, Testarossa, GTO, Daytona, and more. Wired, "Imagine the Views From This Italian-Designed Swiss Train," 8 Sep. 2019 Now Yahoo Finance reports, citing anonymous intelligence sources, that U.S. and Israeli agents collaborated with Germany, the Netherlands, and France to pull off the operation. Robert Hackett, Fortune, "Hardware Security Keys: A Seatbelt for the Internet?—Cyber Saturday," 7 Sep. 2019 The 65-year-old Vietnam veteran, who is legally blind, released his debut album Age Don't Mean a Thing in 2016 and has since collaborated with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, "'America's Got Talent' Fans "Hate" Last Night’s "Disappointing" Semifinal Results," 5 Sep. 2019 The plea agreement indicates Schuman and co-conspirators, identified by online aliases, collaborated from July 2017 to October 2018 to hijack connected appliances and gadgets – collectively known as the Internet of Things. Mike Rogoway, oregonlive, "Vancouver man pleads guilty to enormous ‘Satori’ botnet attack," 4 Sep. 2019 The report also laid bare that city departments have not adequately collaborated to help the most vulnerable among the 4,000 — about 200 of the sickest people — despite officials identifying its neediest cases over many years. Dominic Fracassa, SFChronicle.com, "SF counts 4,000 homeless, addicted and mentally ill, but timeline for help still unclear," 4 Sep. 2019 Reid maintains that Polish Jews widely collaborated with Nazis in the extermination of other Jews during WWII, and have tried to blame Christian Jews ever since. Don Stacom, courant.com, "Amid accusations about ‘Holocaust revisionism,’ New Britain Polish group cancels controversial speech," 22 Aug. 2019 For McCartney, the opportunity to collaborate with Swift was a no brainer. Steff Yotka, Vogue, "Taylor Swift and Stella McCartney Reveal Their Lover Fashion Collaboration," 20 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'collaborate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of collaborate

1871, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for collaborate

Late Latin collaboratus, past participle of collaborare to labor together, from Latin com- + laborare to labor — more at labor

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More Definitions for collaborate

collaborate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of collaborate

: to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something
disapproving : to give help to an enemy who has invaded your country during a war

collaborate

verb
col·​lab·​o·​rate | \ kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio) \
collaborated; collaborating

Kids Definition of collaborate

1 : to work with others (as in writing a book)
2 : to cooperate with an enemy force that has taken over a person's country

collaborate

intransitive verb
col·​lab·​o·​rate | \ kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce collaborate (audio) \
collaborated; collaborating

Legal Definition of collaborate

: to work jointly with others in some endeavor