ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cooperate

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈkwɑpɝˌeɪt// UK //kəʊˈɒpəɹˌeɪt// co·op·er·ate Academic Technical

v. to work together with others to reach a common goal. You use this when you help someone or follow their rules to get a job done.

v. to act or work jointly with another or others for a common purpose. Often implies a willingness to assist or comply with a request from an authority or partner.


SIMPLE

The two companies decided to cooperate on the new project.

CONTEXTUAL

The witness agreed to cooperate with the police in exchange for a lighter sentence.

COMPLEX

While the nations agreed to cooperate on environmental policy, the lack of a binding enforcement mechanism meant that individual compliance remained largely voluntary and inconsistent.

Synonyms
Origin

Originated 1595–1605 from Late Latin cooperātus, perfect passive participle of cooperor (“to work with”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more. Equivalent to co- + operate. Displaced native Old English efnwyrċan.

Usage

The verb is intransitive and typically takes the preposition 'with' before a person or group, and 'on' or 'in' before a task.

Pitfall

they cooperated the projectthey cooperated on the projectCooperate is intransitive; it cannot take a direct object and requires a preposition like 'on' or 'with'.

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