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collaborate

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //kəˈɫæbɝˌeɪt// UK //kəlˈæbəɹˌeɪt// col·lab·o·rate

v. to work together with other people to achieve a goal or create something. You use this when you share ideas and effort on a project.

v. to work jointly on an activity or project, especially to produce or create something. Often implies a formal partnership or a shared intellectual goal.


SIMPLE

The two artists decided to collaborate on a new mural.

CONTEXTUAL

Researchers from three different universities will collaborate to find a cure for the disease.

COMPLEX

In a globalised economy, companies often collaborate with their competitors to establish industry standards that benefit the entire market sector.

Synonyms
Origin

Back-formation from collaborator, from French collaborateur, or else modeled on French collaborer or directly from Late Latin collabōrātus, past participle of collabōrāre. Displaced native Old English efnwyrċan.

Usage

The verb is intransitive and typically takes the preposition 'with' for people and 'on' for projects.

Pitfall

They collaborated the projectThey collaborated on the projectCollaborate is intransitive; it cannot take the project as a direct object and requires the preposition 'on'.

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