What does collude mean?
To collude is to join secretly with another party in order to deceive people or achieve something dishonest or illegal. The verb is most often heard in legal, journalistic, and political contexts: companies may collude to fix prices, officials may collude with contractors, and witnesses are said to have colluded if they coordinated their stories improperly. It is nearly always pejorative — unlike neutral words such as 'collaborate' or 'cooperate', 'collude' implies secrecy and bad faith. Grammatically, it is an intransitive verb, usually paired with the prepositions 'with' (for the accomplice) and 'in' (for the wrongdoing): 'She colluded with colleagues in covering up the error.' Its noun form is 'collusion', and its adjective is 'collusive'. Derived from Latin roots meaning literally 'to play together', the word has come to describe some of society's most serious forms of covert misconduct, making it essential vocabulary for understanding news about corruption, antitrust cases, and institutional cover-ups.
verbTo conspire or act together secretly in order to deceive others or gain an unfair advantage, especially in an illegal or dishonest way.
- To act together secretly toward a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose.
- (Less commonly) To cooperate or conspire with someone for any shared end, sometimes without necessarily implying wrongdoing.
"The two companies were fined heavily after it emerged they had colluded to fix prices."
"Executives at rival firms had colluded for years to keep wages artificially low."
"The inquiry found that officials had colluded with contractors to inflate the cost of public works."
Collude comes from the Latin 'ludere', meaning 'to play' — but there's nothing playful about the price-fixing and fraud it usually describes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of collude
Collude derives from the Latin 'colludere', formed from 'com-' ('together') plus 'ludere' ('to play'). In classical Latin it could mean to play along with others or mock jointly, but by the early seventeenth century English had narrowed the sense to secret, fraudulent cooperation — a shift that reflects the word's enduringly sinister tone. It shares its root 'ludere' with words such as 'elude', 'illusion', 'ludicrous', and 'prelude'.
Related word forms
How collude is actually used
Formal register, used chiefly in journalism, legal writing, and official reports. It almost always carries a negative connotation — secret, improper joint action. Typically followed by 'with' (the person or party) or 'in' (the wrongful act).
Easily confused with collude
'Coincide' means simply to happen at the same time or match, while 'collude' implies a deliberate secret conspiracy.