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.

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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

Example Sentences

The court wrote that it’s an ethical problem when the “prolonged access” at J&J was “followed by collaborative efforts with its most prominent adversary.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

One early peak of the set came when Jake Duzsik of the L.A. industrial-rock trio Health came out to duet on “The Drain,” a lurching, menacing collaborative single and a standout for both bands.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The project also demonstrated how effective coordinated taxonomy workshops can be, offering a faster and more collaborative approach to species discovery.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026

She has recently performed with local icons 808 State and A Certain Radio and underlines the "really intergenerational" and "collaborative" make-up of the city.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Everywhere you turn, hierarchies are being challenged from below or are transforming themselves from top- down structures into more horizontal and collaborative ones.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman