- often followed by on, with, etc: to work with another or others on a joint project
- to cooperate as a traitor, esp with an enemy occupying one's own country
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
col•lab•o•rate /kəˈlæbəˌreɪt/USA pronunciation
v., -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
col•lab•o•ra•tive /kəˈlæbəˌreɪtɪv, -ərətɪv/USA pronunciation adj.
col•lab•o•ra•tor, n. [countable]See -lab-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to work together; cooperate, as on writing a book, etc.: [no object;
(~ + on + object)]The two writers collaborated on the script.[~ + with]He collaborated with Ira Gershwin. - to cooperate with an enemy nation, esp. with an enemy occupying one's country:[no object;(~ + with + object)]guilty of collaborating; found guilty of collaborating with the enemy.
col•lab•o•ra•tive /kəˈlæbəˌreɪtɪv, -ərətɪv/USA pronunciation adj.
col•lab•o•ra•tor, n. [countable]See -lab-.
col•lab•o•rate
(kə lab′ə rāt′),USA pronunciation v.i., -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
col•lab′o•ra′tor, n.
- to work, one with another;
cooperate, as on a literary work:They collaborated on a novel. - to cooperate, usually willingly, with an enemy nation, esp. with an enemy occupying one's country:He collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.
- Late Latin collabōrātus (past participle of collabōrāre), equivalent. to col- col-1 + labor work + -ātus -ate1
- 1870–75
- 2. collude, join, assist, abet.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
collaborate /kəˈlæbəˌreɪt/ vb (intransitive)
'collaborate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):