colleague
Americannoun
noun
Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of colleague
First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French collegue, from Latin collēga, equivalent to col- “with, together” ( see col- 1) + -lēga, derivative of legere “to choose, gather”
Compare meaning
How does colleague compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A colleague is someone you work with at your job. When you are a teacher, the other teachers are your colleagues. When you work as a cashier at 7-11, the guy at the deli counter is your colleague as well. Your colleagues are usually people at the same level or rank as you are. You would not usually consider your boss to be a colleague. This noun is from French collègue, from Latin collega "a person chosen along with another," from the prefix com- "with" plus legare "to appoint as a deputy."
Vocabulary lists containing colleague
Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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Vocabulary from "There Will Never Be an Age of Artificial Intimacy," by Sherry Turkle
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Colleague Marcia Raphael added the move sought to boost "concentration, performance, community life, and emotional health" in young people.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
Colleague and investigative journalist Irma Dimidtradze says her boss had not been taking part in the daily anti-government protests.
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2025
“Maybe in the next few weeks we’ll get a little more clarity what the Dear Colleague letter actually means,” says Mary Hall Reno, a theoretical physicist at the University of Iowa.
From Science Magazine • Jun. 21, 2023
Colleague Rong Xu said she had expected to see some increase among seniors sickened by covid, but was surprised “by the extent of the increase and how rapidly it occurred.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2022
Colleague, because of it and with the help of the present moment and the current state of world affairs, I have become the poet in my family.
From German Moonlight by Raabe, Wilhelm
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
