cahoots

British

/ kəˈhuːts /

plural noun

partnership; league (esp in the phrases go in cahoots with, go cahoot )
in collusion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cahoots Idioms

see under in league with.

Etymology

Origin of cahoots

C19: of uncertain origin

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.

With no independent justice system in place, opponents of the M23 faced repression, some accused of being in cahoots with the pro-government militia.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

For its part, the M23 said the DR Congo army had launched an air and ground assault against its positions, and this was done in cahoots with Burundian forces.

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025

Within hours of arriving in Venice, he begins to suspect that the city itself, with its disorienting streets and shady denizens, is somehow in cahoots with his sphinxlike wife to betray him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 9, 2025

Is he going home at night feeling guilty and wondering, “Am I in cahoots with criminals? I guess I am.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2025

And if that wasn’t enough, paying ten dollars a month to somebody to tell you how to lose it fast, that either dont know anything about it or is in cahoots with the telegraph company.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023