collaborate
Americanverb (used without object)
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collaborates,
present (3rd person singular)
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collaborated,
past participle, past
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collaborating
present participle
verb
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to work with another or others on a joint project
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to cooperate as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one's own country
Usage
What does collaborate mean? Collaborate means to work together, especially on a goal or shared project. Collaborate is often used in a positive context to refer to two or more parties successfully working together on professional or artistic projects. It often implies more than just cooperation. When two or more people collaborate, they often share and develop each other’s ideas. The act of collaborating is called collaboration. Such a joint effort can be described with the adjective collaborative. People who collaborate are called collaborators. Collaborate can also be used in a much more specific way meaning to cooperate as a traitor with enemy forces in one’s own country. This is much less commonly used than its general sense. Example: The two musicians, who usually have very different styles, collaborated on the groundbreaking new album.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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collaboratesimple
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collaboratessimple
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have collaboratedperfect
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has collaboratedperfect
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am collaboratingprogressive
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are collaboratingprogressive
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is collaboratingprogressive
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have been collaboratingperfect progressive
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has been collaboratingperfect progressive
Past
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collaboratedsimple
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had collaboratedperfect
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was collaboratingprogressive
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were collaboratingprogressive
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had been collaboratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collaborate
First recorded in 1870–75; from Late Latin collabōrātus (past participle of collabōrāre), equivalent to col- col- 1 + labor “work” + -ātus -ate 1
Compare meaning
How does collaborate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you work together on shared goal, you collaborate. If you don't just split a project up evenly but work together on creating solutions, you collaborate. Inside the word you see co-labor, or "working together." Cooperation is simply splitting up the work and getting it done. Collaboration is when you brainstorm, create, and share possible solutions. During World War II, however, Nazi collaborators were sharing ideas with the wrong side. In today's pop music scene, collaboration means featuring a guest star on a record, and it's often a surefire way to boost sales.
Vocabulary lists containing collaborate
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The Diary of Anne Frank
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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.
See Examples For:
And finally, employers can collaborate with local stakeholders to advocate for tax credits and training subsidies that make it more affordable and less burdensome for businesses of all sizes to host CTE students.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
Brussels and Ottawa also want to collaborate on AI, a field where they are playing catch up with the United States and China.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
Still, some critics question whether giving religious groups special zoning treatment is constitutional; others warn that cash-strapped congregations could collaborate with developers for profit rather than mission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
They said they didn't believe the idea went far, but said "the reason for discussion was serious" and added that the alternative plan was "about staff being open plan and able to collaborate".
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
In lots of science fields, the researchers get to know one another’s work and often collaborate.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
On his new country album, Starr collaborates with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Billy Strings and St Vincent.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
It is also a founding member of the VPN Trust Initiative and collaborates with cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt to refine breach response protocols and educate users on data safety.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026
Dimiter Petsev, a professor in the UNM Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, frequently collaborates with Alexandrov on materials science research.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2026
He works on a variety of topics and often collaborates with other reporters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Pemberton, T. Edgar, on Bret Harte, 220, 229; his account of Bret Harte as a playwright, 234, 235; letter of Bret Harte to him, 267; collaborates with, as a dramatist, 286.
From The Life of Bret Harte With Some Account of the California Pioneers by Henry Childs Merwin
They collaborated with neurologist Yo-El Ju at Washington University in St. Louis to analyze spinal fluid from a separate group of older adults.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
Lewis, also a singer-songwriter, shared with Crow that she collaborated on a Welsh language version of the song Jolene with Parton and Parton's niece, Jada Star.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
In 2009, he collaborated on hidden-camera investigations targeting Planned Parenthood and gained national attention for videos involving the community organization ACORN.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
Armisen and Brownstein, who have collaborated together for more than 20 years, bring the same relaxed vibe of their series to the podcast, which launched last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Rose and me had collaborated on something fresh, just for today.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
The special film was jointly invented by researchers at Caltech and the University of Pennsylvania, where the collaborating team was led by Professor Igor Bargatin.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
About a dozen other organizations are collaborating on the operation.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
Reggaeton came from Puerto Rico, by way of reggae en español; her lyrics and rhythms were different, and the people collaborating with her came from electronica, not the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Goldstein started collaborating with Rosalía on her third project, Motomami, which showed she could also make radio-friendly Spanish-language pop: “La Fama” nodded to the Dominican style of bachata; “Saoko” to kinetic reggaeton.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
She began her sound effects career collaborating with her husband, Arthur Nichols, who invented the first sound machines for radio.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
