co-conspirator

Or co·con·spir·a·tor

[koh-kuhn-spir-uh-ter]

noun

1. a fellow conspirator; associate or collaborator in a conspiracy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of co-conspirator¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Zada and a co-conspirator, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 28, were arrested in the central US state of Oklahoma in October 2024, several weeks before the November 5 presidential election.

Read more on Barron's

The releases could, in theory, also include files pertaining to imprisoned Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as people - including government officials - mentioned in the case.

Read more on BBC

Podesta, who is identified in the indictment as “Co-Conspirator 2,” was not charged.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Podesta is the person identified as “Co-Conspirator 2,” but has not been charged and is cooperating with investigators, according to her attorney.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Two other well-connected aides in state politics were also charged — and struck plea deals confirming the scheme — while a third, with deep ties to one of the most well-connected circles of political and business consultants in the country, appeared in charging documents as an uncharged co-conspirator.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• aide 
• associate 
• collaborator 
• conspirator 

When To Use

What does co-conspirator mean?

A co-conspirator is a fellow conspirator—someone engaged in a secret plan by multiple people to do something evil or illegal.Such a plan is called a conspiracy. The word conspiracy can also refer to the act of making such plans—the act of conspiring—or to the group making the plans. In a legal context, conspiracy refers to an agreement by two or more people to commit a crime.In any of these cases, the people involved can be called conspirators. The word co-conspirator refers to a conspirator conspiring with one or more other conspirators in the same conspiracy. By itself, the word conspirator always implies that there are multiple people involved—there is never a single conspirator. Technically, the phrase fellow co-conspirator is redundant, since co-conspirator means the same thing as fellow conspirator.A conspiracy theory is an explanation of an event that says it was the result of a secret and often complex and evil plot by multiple co-conspirators. People who promote or formulate conspiracy theories often reject the standard or accepted explanation of unexplained or unusual events and claim that they are the doing of evil conspirators secretly conspiring behind the scenes.Example: This proves that the crime wasn’t the work of one man—it was carried out by several co-conspirators who are now under arrest.