collaborative

American  

[kuh-lab-uh-rey-tiv, -er-uh-tiv] / kəˈlæb əˌreɪ tɪv, -ər ə tɪv /

adjective

1. characterized or accomplished by cooperation or working together.

   collaborative methods;

   a collaborative report.

2. relating to or involving several organizations, groups, people, etc., working together for a common purpose.

   My doctor is now part of a collaborative practice.

   Modern policing is trending toward collaborative law enforcement, where police officers work hand-in-hand with community leaders and neighborhood associations.

---

noun

1. a group of people working together for a common purpose.

   The collaborative of doctors was able to gather important new information about the illness by pooling anonymized patient data.

Usage

What does collaborative mean? Collaborative is an adjective that describes an effort in which people work together (that is, one in which they collaborate). Collaborative is often used in a positive context to refer to two or more parties successfully working together on a goal or shared project. It’s also increasingly used as a noun for an organized joint effort. Example: The groundbreaking new album was a collaborative effort by the two musicians, who usually have very different styles.

Other Word Forms

• collaboratively adverb
• uncollaborative adjective
• uncollaboratively adverb

Etymology

Origin of collaborative

collaborate + -ive

Explanation

The adjective collaborative describes something accomplished by working together with others. With a collaborative effort, a big job can be completed in very little time. When you collaborate, you cooperate, or join forces, with other people — working on a project, brainstorming ideas, even assigning responsibility for who will do what. So something that has these qualities is collaborative. From playing in a band to making a movie, feeding the students at a school to building a house, when you work toward a shared goal, it's collaborative.

Example Sentences

“This deal reflects a collaborative approach that supports both writers and the industry’s long-term stability,” said AMPTP.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Here, she tends to describe a largely peaceable kingdom populated by earnest researchers thoughtfully pursuing nature’s questions in a collaborative environment of inquiry and wonder.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

However, this collaborative effort between the John Innes Centre, the University of York, and the Rowland Institute at Harvard, suggests it has been repurposed to release GTA particles for gene transfer.

From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2026

TikTok said it had a "longstanding and collaborative relationship" with City Hall, adding that the GLA's research did not include data from its platform.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

The plot line itself, to finish up, is largely the result of a rather unholy collaborative effort.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger