What does collusion mean?
Collusion refers to secret cooperation between two or more people or organizations, typically carried out in order to deceive others, commit fraud, or secure an unfair advantage. It is most familiar from economics and law, where it describes covert agreements among business rivals — for example, fixing prices, dividing up markets, or rigging bids — that harm consumers and undermine fair competition. Beyond the commercial sphere, the word is widely used in political journalism to describe clandestine dealings between officials, campaigns, or foreign actors. Because collusion is by definition hidden, the word always carries strongly negative connotations of deceit, betrayal, and illegality; calling an arrangement 'collusion' is itself an accusation. It derives from the Latin 'colludere', meaning to play together, which gives the term a striking irony: those who collude are, etymologically speaking, playing a game together at everyone else's expense. Common collocations include 'in collusion with' and 'evidence of collusion'.
nounSecret or illegal cooperation between two or more parties, especially in order to deceive others, gain an unfair advantage, or defraud. In law and economics it often refers to a secret agreement between rivals that harms third parties, such as price-fixing.
- Secret cooperation between parties to deceive, defraud, or gain an unfair advantage, especially illegal cooperation between business competitors (price-fixing, bid-rigging).
- More generally, any secretive collaboration intended to mislead others, including in political or personal contexts.
"The investigation uncovered collusion between the two firms to rig the bidding."
"Regulators fined the airlines after discovering collusion to fix fuel surcharge prices."
"The scandal revealed that the officials had been in collusion with the contractors for years."
Rarely used in the plural; the word normally appears uncounted, since each instance is usually discussed individually. The plural is occasionally found in legal or analytical writing referring to multiple separate instances.
"The report documented several collusions between suppliers across different regions."
Collusion comes from the Latin 'ludere' — to play — so when people collude, they are literally playing a secret game together against everyone else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of collusion
Collusion entered English in the early 17th century from the Latin verb 'colludere', formed from 'com-' ('together') plus 'ludere' ('to play'), originally meaning to play together. Over time the sense shifted from playful joint activity to secret, deceptive cooperation, reflecting how conspirators act as though performing a private game before an unwitting audience. It shares its Latin root 'ludere' with words such as illusion, delusion, prelude, and interlude, as well as with the direct derivative 'collude'.
Related word forms
How collusion is actually used
The word carries strong negative connotations of secrecy, deceit, and wrongdoing; describing something as 'collusion' almost always implies impropriety. It is common in legal, political, and financial reporting. The phrase 'in collusion with' is the most established fixed expression.
Easily confused with collusion
Corruption is the broader abuse of entrusted power for private gain, whereas collusion specifically means secret cooperation between two or more parties to deceive or defraud others.