MEANING
To cooperate secretly with others in a deceptive, improper, or unlawful scheme.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- collude with a rival
- collude to conceal
On the page
The rivals had colluded to conceal the missing funds.
She wondered whether the witnesses had colluded or merely repeated the same rumor.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- collude
- Past tense
- colluded
- Past participle
- colluded
- Present participle
- colluding
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- collude
- Present continuous
- am/is/are colluding
- Present perfect
- have/has colluded
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been colluding
- Past
- colluded
- Past continuous
- was/were colluding
- Past perfect
- had colluded
- Past perfect continuous
- had been colluding
- Future
- will collude
- Future continuous
- will be colluding
- Future perfect
- will have colluded
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been colluding
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: collude; colludes; colluded; colluded; colluding Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: colludes.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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