cooperate
Americanverb (used without object)
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cooperates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cooperated,
past participle, past
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cooperating
present participle
-
to work or act together or jointly for a common purpose or benefit.
-
to work or act with another or other persons willingly and agreeably.
- Synonyms:
- participate, join, collaborate
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to practice economic cooperation.
verb
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to work or act together
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to be of assistance or be willing to assist
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economics (of firms, workers, consumers, etc) to engage in economic cooperation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cooperatesimple
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cooperatessimple
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have cooperatedperfect
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has cooperatedperfect
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am cooperatingprogressive
-
are cooperatingprogressive
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is cooperatingprogressive
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have been cooperatingperfect progressive
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has been cooperatingperfect progressive
Past
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cooperatedsimple
-
had cooperatedperfect
-
was cooperatingprogressive
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were cooperatingprogressive
-
had been cooperatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cooperate
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Late Latin cooperātus, past participle of cooperārī “to work with”; see co-, operate
Explanation
When you cooperate, you work together. You can cooperate with the police by telling them everything you know about your neighbor’s pet leopard, or your preschooler can cooperate with you by doing everything you tell him to do, now! The verb cooperate is originally from the combination of The Latin prefix co-, meaning “together,” and operari, meaning “to work.” The term “co-op” is a shortening of cooperative and is used when people work together (or cooperate) to run a preschool, health food store, or a residence. When you start or join a co-op, be prepared to cooperate with your partners, and remember: somebody has to clean the bathrooms.
Vocabulary lists containing cooperate
UCPS 6th Grade Roots List #1
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Divergent
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Chapter 28: The Cold War Era
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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.
See Examples For:
With fears about AI making global headlines, agreement to cooperate on regulation or a slowdown is expected to be a major topic of discussion between Trump and Xi.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
“We do not believe the inquiry accurately characterizes our actions or practices and will cooperate through the appropriate process.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
"Iran will cooperate only to the extent that circumstances and safety permit," he told reporters after the board's vote.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The U.S. security agencies called on companies and the government to cooperate better to defend themselves against large-scale distillation, but didn’t discuss specific sanctions on China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Fabyan refused to cooperate, and he didn’t tell Elizebeth and William about the offer.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Angelenos are exactly where they need to be to see Thursday’s partial “blood moon” lunar eclipse — provided the weather cooperates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
His business also cooperates with the National Emergency Supply Organisation.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
Binance has said it was confident it complies with all reporting obligations, and it cooperates with law enforcement and regulators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Whether either side cooperates remains to be seen.
From Barron's ● Jan. 17, 2026
I try to stand up too, and my knee barely cooperates.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
A swarm of AI agents bypassed internal limits, created their own message board, and cooperated to hack another AI firm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Along with the stigma this created, the tactic allowed Flynn’s defense to claim she had cooperated with prosecutors under threat of a criminal charge for what the newspaper delicately called the “illegal operation.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
For instance, Rodriguez has actively cooperated with Washington to open up Venezuela's oil, electricity and mining sectors to private and foreign capital.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Instead, the residents of Mohenjo-daro may have cooperated to give households broad access to the resources needed for a comfortable standard of living.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
Eventually six of them, including Peralta, cooperated with the group.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
The firm previously said it was "devastated by the accident" and that it is cooperating with authorities to investigate the incident.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
On Thursday, the company that owns the M/V June Aster, Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc, said it was fully cooperating with the investigation.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
The company also agreed to continue cooperating with the government in criminal prosecutions related to the matter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Amazon said it was “heartbroken by the loss of life” and was cooperating with authorities.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
The only thing I like this morning is my hair, which seems to be cooperating with me.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
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.
