collaborate

American  

[kuh-lab-uh-reyt] / kəˈlæb əˌreɪt /

verb (used without object)

collaborated, collaborating

1. to work, one with another; cooperate, as on a literary work.

   They collaborated on a novel.

2. to cooperate with an enemy nation, especially with an enemy occupying one's country.

   He collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

   Synonyms:

   abet, assist, join, collude

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collaborate British  

/ kəˈlæbəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to work with another or others on a joint project

2. to cooperate as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one's own country

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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

• collaborative
  adjective
• collaborator
  noun

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:

• corroborate vs. collaborate

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.

Example Sentences

“It is not Flock’s job to determine who should share or collaborate with the federal government,” said Joshua Thomas, a spokesman for the company, which operates in 49 states.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026

"International and club rugby are two distinct products each with its own audience and experience and the more they can collaborate, particularly in relation to content, the stronger the sport will become."

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Later, she is assigned to collaborate on a guidebook and write a term paper.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

AI start-up Anthropic announced on Friday that it was launching Claude Design, a new Anthropic Labs product that lets users collaborate with Claude to create visuals.

From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026

According to Shawna Vogel: "Geologists and geophysicists rarely go to the same meetings or collaborate on the same problems."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• collude
• conspire
• cooperate
• hook up
• participate