collude

/kəˈluːd/

//kəˈluːd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"collude" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“collude” is uncommon English (frequency #53,453 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,453
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - to act in concert with; to conspire

Corpus desk

Index EN-collude · collude · English

collude · rank #53,453 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,453
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Collett

Nearest frequency peer: Collett (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “collude”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “collude” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for collude
PropertyValue
Headwordcollude
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəˈluːd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#53,453
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “collude” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).colludefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “Collett” (#53,452), “comparator” (#53,454), “conductance” (#53,456). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “collude” is #53,453. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

collude is uncommon English at frequency #53,453 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kəˈluːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "to act in concert with; to conspire".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for collude, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: * From Latin collūdere, from con- and lūdere (“to play”). The correct English form is collude, spelled C-O-L-L-U-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    to act in concert with; to conspire

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how collude appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. William understood Diana more but idealized her less. He was privy to her volatile love life. He knew the tabloids made her life hell, but he also knew she colluded with them.

Etymology

* From Latin collūdere, from con- and lūdere (“to play”).

Synonyms

to be in cahootsconspireplotscheme

This word in other languages

coludir(Español)comploter(Français)zusammenspielen(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "collude"?
"collude" is spelled C-O-L-L-U-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈluːd/.
What does "collude" mean?
As a verb, "collude" means: to act in concert with; to conspire
How do you pronounce "collude"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "collude" is /kəˈluːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "collude"?
* From Latin collūdere, from con- and lūdere (“to play”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "collude", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Collett#53,452cookout#53,461Chorley#53,444coterie#53,465

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list