collude
verb (used without object)
to act together through a secret understanding, especially with evil or harmful intent.
colluded
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past participleof collude.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof collude.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
colludeverb (used without object)to act together through a secret understanding, especially with evil or harmful intent.
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.
Private-equity firm Silver Lake is asking a judge to declare that activist investor Carl Icahn and a group of hedge funds illegally colluded in attempts to fight the $13 billion acquisition of talent agency Endeavor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
In a recent report, outside researchers found that OpenAI’s rogue agents colluded to deceive testers about the cheating they used to pass a test.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Greystar, which manages dozens of apartment complexes in Southern California, has settled a lawsuit that alleges the property giant and other landlords colluded to keep rents artificially high.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
We have no idea how many times Clase, in particular, colluded with bettors in this fashion.
From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2025
The Rosenwald organizers, catching Bobby’s implication that they’d colluded to make the pairings more favorable for some, expressed outrage at his protest.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
