colleague

[kol-eeg]

noun

1. an associate.

colleague

/ ˈkɒliːɡ /

noun

1. a fellow worker or member of a staff, department, profession, etc

Other Word Forms

• colleagueship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of colleague¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French collegue, from Latin collēga, equivalent to col- “with, together” ( col- ¹ ) + -lēga, derivative of legere “to choose, gather”

Word History and Origins

Origin of colleague¹

C16: from French collègue, from Latin collēga one selected at the same time as another, from com- together + lēgāre to choose

Example Sentences

According to the U.S. allegations against him, Binance’s top compliance official once told colleagues that Zhao didn’t want the exchange to vet users’ identities and that its customers were “here for crime.”

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"We just need to get on with it. I've got a handful of colleagues who really get that. And some who simply don't."

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An increase in openness at home also has wider effects and Dr Ekechi believes informed fathers make better colleagues and leaders too.

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Mr Saddiq said he knew colleagues who had left the service following an assault and warned the problem was rising "year on year".

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One of the firm’s employees, sitting with a colleague beside a pond in Central Park, noted that ducks quacking nearby sounded like they were saying “Aflac.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• aide 
• ally 
• assistant 
• buddy 
• co-worker 
• companion 
• comrade 
• friend 
• partner 
• teammate 

When To Use

What does colleague mean?

A colleague is someone you work with or someone who’s in the same profession as you, especially a peer within that profession.Colleague can be a synonym for coworker, which is someone who has the same employer as you. But it also used to refer to people who have different employers but who work in the same or a very similar profession, especially when they regularly interact or share knowledge. For example, two medical researchers who work for different universities but who collaborate to publish research findings would be called colleagues.Example: Sarah has received an outpouring of support from her fellow attorneys at the firm as well as many of her colleagues in the legal community.