collude
kuh-LOOD
/kəˈluːd/
To cooperate secretly or illegally, especially in order to deceive or cheat others.
Carries a strong connotation of illicit secrecy and conspiracy against buyers, rivals, or legal authority.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'colludere', built from 'com-' (together) and 'ludere' (to play). The term was originally used in Roman courtrooms when opposing lawyers secretly agreed to play along together to deceive the presiding judge.
Word relationships
- conspire: Conspire is used widely for any secret plot (political, criminal), whereas collude is focused strongly on economic fraud or price manipulation.
- scheme: Scheme emphasizes the clever plan itself; collude emphasizes the secretive partnership between competitors.
- compete: To strive independently against rival businesses in an open, transparent market.
Commonly confused with
- collide: Collide means to crash into something violently; collude means to conspire together secretly.
Word family
- collusion (noun): Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy.
- collusive (adjective): Involving secret agreement or conspiracy.
Collocations
- collude to fix prices
- collude with competitors
- alleged to collude
- secretly collude
Idioms & expressions
- be in cahoots
Example sentences
- "Investigators found that major investment banks would collude via private chat rooms to manipulate benchmark foreign exchange rates." Economic crime report
- "If rival firms collude to fix prices, consumers end up paying significantly higher costs for basic goods." Market regulation textbook
Memory hook
COLLUDE sounds like CON-LUD -> Con-artists playing a game together. Collude = Secretly play together to cheat.
When not to use
Do not use to describe open, legal corporate partnerships or legitimate team collaboration.
Fun facts
- In game theory, the famous 'Prisoner's Dilemma' mathematically demonstrates why competing companies are always tempted to collude, even though doing so violates the law.
Related words
Explore more words
collusion, complicit, clandestine, subterfuge, illicit, double-cross
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