Collaborative

Relating to or accomplished through collaboration; involving two or more people or groups working together toward a shared goal.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine a cross-functional team—an engineer, a designer, and a marketer—gathered around a whiteboard, each contributing ideas and building on one another's suggestions to create a new product.

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Sounds Like

kuh-LAB-uh-ray-tiv

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Looks Like

collab + orate + ive; resembles 'collaborate' with the -ive suffix; similar to 'cooperative'

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Remember This

Etymology: from Latin collaborare 'to work together' (com- 'together' + laborare 'to work'). The concept of collaboration has roots in teamwork and partnerships across many cultures.

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Other Forms

collaborationnoun

collaboratornoun

collaborativelyadverb

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Connect With

cooperate, teamwork, partnership, joint effort, synergy

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Note

An adjective; when used as a noun, use 'collaboration' (e.g., 'Their collaboration was fruitful'). Be careful not to confuse with 'collaborator' (the person) or with 'collapsible'.

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Study Deeper

Examples

The collaborative project brought together researchers from three universities.
A collaborative approach in the classroom encourages students to work in teams.

Synonyms

cooperativejointconcertedcoordinatedteam-based

Antonyms

individualisticuncooperativeisolated

Etymology

From Latin collaborare, meaning 'to work together' (com- 'together' + laborare 'to work').

Mnemonic

Mnemonic: COLLABORATE + -IVE. The word literally contains 'collaborate' plus the suffix -ive, reminding you that it describes something that results from working together.