collaboration

American  

[kuh-lab-uh-ray-shuhn] / kəˌlæb əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• collaborations
  plural

1. 

   the act or process of working together or cooperating.

   Chat tools provide opportunity for real-time collaboration and dialogue.

2. a product resulting from working together or cooperating.

   This dictionary is a collaboration of many minds.

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collaboration British  

/ kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of working with another or others on a joint project

2. something created by working jointly with another or others

3. the act of cooperating as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one's own country

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Usage

What does collaboration mean? Collaboration is the act of working together, especially on a goal or shared project. It can also be used to refer to a product of collaboration, as in The new single is a  collaboration from the two pop stars. Collaboration is the noun form of the verb collaborate, meaning to work together. Collaboration 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 not just cooperation but sharing and developing of each other’s ideas. Such a joint effort can be described with the adjective collaborative. People who collaborate are called collaborators. Collaboration can also be used in a much more specific way referring to cooperation as a traitor with enemy forces in one’s own country. This is much less commonly used than its general sense. Example: This project would not have happened without close collaboration between all the departments. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• collaborationist
  noun
• noncollaboration
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• collaborations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of collaboration

First recorded in 1855–60; from French, from Late Latin collabōrāt ( us ) ( see collaborate) + French -ion -ion

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Explanation

When you join a group of friends to build a huge sandcastle on the beach, your impressive structure is the result of collaboration, or working together toward a common goal. Working with another person — or a group of people — to make something together is collaboration. You can also describe the result of your work, like the elaborately decorated cake you made with your best friend, as a collaboration. During World War II, the word collaboration began being used to mean "working traitorously with an enemy," and became a very serious crime.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

collaboration collaborations

Soon after Johnson started, she and Stansbury developed an almost siblinglike partnership built on collaboration, mutual trust and direct communication, he recalls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

During Thursday’s event, Musk called the Roadster the “culmination” of a close collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

The research, led by Duke-NUS Medical School in collaboration with Singapore General Hospital and Cardiff University, identified a molecular system that becomes disrupted as muscles grow older.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

The tech billionaire described the development as "what happens when you have a collaboration with the world's best car company and the world's best rocket company," referring to Tesla and SpaceX.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Only by “cooperation and close collaboration of all concerned could the solution possibly have been reached,” he wrote.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

The internet is how she’s built a growing list of eclectic collaborations, including Kellin Quinn of post-hardcore band Sleeping With Sirens, with whom she created recent single “Lamb” in a rainy Portland studio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

The laboratory research was led by Sweta B. Patel, PhD, and involved collaborations with University of Colorado Anschutz researchers, including Angelo D'Alessadro, PhD and Julie Reisz Haines, PhD, along with additional collaborators from several institutions.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

“In pop culture, we have introduced an entirely new fandom experience and destination that leans into things like trading cards and collectibles, but also exclusive collaborations, into one cohesive experience,” Sylvester said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

Recent heat waves are inspiring makers of fans and other cooling products to position themselves as constant companions using new collaborations and influencer partnerships.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

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Related Words

• association
• collusion
• combination
• concert
• participation
• partnership
• teamwork

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