cooperate
Formscooperates, cooperating, cooperated
- 1To work or act together with others, especially toward a common purpose or shared benefit.
Neighbors who cooperate during emergencies tend to recover more quickly.
The rival companies chose to cooperate on shared safety standards.
Similarcollaborate, partner, coordinate, unite, ally
Oppositecompete, clash, conflict
Note
Latin parts made the English verb: Late Latin cooperātus, from cooperor 'to work with', equivalent to co- plus operate. It entered English around 1595–1605 and displaced the native Old English efnwyrċan. It takes no direct object: the others are partners, not things acted on. Matt Bai, writing in 2012, sets parties that cooperate against a climate grown adversarial, which is a handy measure of what the word excludes.
- 2
- 3To function together in harmony, working side by side.
The heart and lungs cooperate to keep the body supplied with oxygen.
Several small engines cooperate to power the large ship.
Similarcoordinate, harmonize, collaborate
- 4To work together on economic matters, such as trade or production, for mutual benefit.
Member states cooperate to lower tariffs across the region.
Local businesses cooperate to buy their supplies in bulk.
Similarcollaborate, partner, combine, unite
Oppositecompete
- 5To persuade a potential witness or suspect to assist prosecutors, especially by giving evidence against others.
Federal prosecutors moved to cooperate the accountant, hoping she would testify against her bosses.
Investigators cooperated the lower-level dealer to build a case against the supplier.
Note
Prosecutors' shop talk turns the verb around. Here it takes an object, and the person cooperated is the one brought over to the government's side. The result is a cooperating witness, often someone who trades testimony for leniency. Outside legal jargon the transitive use sounds odd, so general writing does better with 'secure the cooperation of' and keeps the ordinary intransitive verb for working together.
Practice
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Origin
First recorded around 1595–1605, it comes from Late Latin cooperātus, the past participle of cooperor ("to work with"). It is formed from co- plus operate, and it displaced the native Old English efnwyrċan.