collaborate

American  

[kuh-lab-uh-reyt] / kəˈlæb əˌreɪt /

verb (used without object)

collaborated, collaborating

1. to work, one with another; cooperate, as on a literary work.

   They collaborated on a novel.

2. to cooperate with an enemy nation, especially with an enemy occupying one's country.

   He collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

   Synonyms:

   abet, assist, join, collude

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collaborate British  

/ kəˈlæbəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to work with another or others on a joint project

2. to cooperate as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one's own country

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Usage

What does collaborate mean? Collaborate means to work together, especially on a goal or shared project.Collaborate is often used in a positive context to refer to two or more parties successfully working together on professional or artistic projects. It often implies more than just cooperation. When two or more people collaborate, they often share and develop each other’s ideas.The act of collaborating is called collaboration. Such a joint effort can be described with the adjective collaborative. People who collaborate are called collaborators.Collaborate can also be used in a much more specific way meaning to cooperate as a traitor with enemy forces in one’s own country. This is much less commonly used than its general sense.Example: The two musicians, who usually have very different styles, collaborated on the groundbreaking new album.

Other Word Forms

• collaborative adjective
• collaborator noun

Etymology

Origin of collaborate

First recorded in 1870–75; from Late Latin collabōrātus (past participle of collabōrāre), equivalent to col- col- ¹ + labor “work” + -ātus -ate ¹

Compare meaning

How does collaborate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• corroborate vs. collaborate

Example Sentences

In the group Slack, Claudius became an oddly real presence, a co-worker people collaborated with in small groups, teased and collectively tried to outsmart.

From The Wall Street Journal

The companies said they will collaborate to enable virtual design, testing and validation through the use of “digital twins”—simulations of physical processes—for industries such as semiconductor, robotics, aerospace, automotive, energy, and healthcare.

From Barron's

The label said it believes "both versions of the track infringe on Jorja's rights and unfairly take advantage of the work of all the songwriters with whom she collaborates".

From BBC

To prepare for next year's peak solar activity period, the IIA collaborated with Nasa to study the data it gathered from one of the largest CMEs that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

From BBC

Coordinated by Saarland University, the QR.N network includes 42 partners from universities, research institutes, and industry who collaborate on developing and testing quantum repeater technology in optical fiber networks.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• collude
• conspire
• cooperate
• hook up
• participate