colluding

American  

[kuh-loo-ding] / kəˈlu dɪŋ /

adjective

1. working together secretively with fraudulent or harmful intent.

   If the colluding witnesses have not agreed on the details being asked about, each witness will invent something.

   By acting like a monopoly, the colluding firms can set a monopoly price and generate monopoly profits.

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noun

1. the act or process of working together secretively with fraudulent or harmful intent.

   Both agencies took pains to be subtle and not make the colluding too obvious.

Etymology

Origin of colluding

First recorded in 1605–15; collud(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; collud(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

In a nation fed up with leaders seen as tolerating or colluding with organized crime, Manzo, 40, stood out.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Smoke-filled rooms of colluding owners aren’t required, though.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

Presenting the report to MPs, parliament majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah, described a "deeply disturbing" network of rogue state officials allegedly colluding with human trafficking syndicates to recruit and transport Kenyans.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

With an attorney on the plaintiffs’ side of the lawsuit colluding with the city’s team, the city could settle the claims on favorable terms.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Many Osage had come to believe that local authorities were colluding with the killers and that only an outside force like Davis could cut through the corruption and solve the growing number of cases.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann