cooperate
/kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/verb
cooperate is spelled C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-E: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, cooperate means “To work or act together, especially for a common purpose or benefit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cooperate?
| Letters | 9: C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.2 times per million words; the 9,735th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is cooperate?
Cooperate appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cooperate?
- UK /kəʊˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/
- UK /kuˈɒp.ə.ɹeɪt/
- British /kəˈwɔpəɹɛjt/
Cooperate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-cooperate.ogg, En-cooperate.ogg, En-us-cooperate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cooperate
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: co-operate (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of cooperate
- cooperates present, singular, he/she/it
- cooperating participle, present
- cooperated participle, past
- co-operate UK
- coöperates present, singular, he/she/it
- coöperating participle, present
- coöperated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cooperate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To work or act together, especially for a common purpose or benefit.
- 2
To allow for mutual unobstructed action.
- 3
To function in harmony, side by side.
- 4
To engage in economic cooperation.
- 5
To obtain the cooperation of (a potential witness); to turn (someone) into a cooperating witness.
verb
- 1
Dated spelling of cooperate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cooperate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coopérer, collaborer |
| German | zusammenarbeiten, kooperieren , harmonieren, zusammenspielen |
| Portuguese | cooperar, colaborar |
| Spanish | cooperar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cooperate come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).