cooperate

cooperate — verb

1. to be willing to work with other people by combining your actions or efforts tow

1.verbintransitiveB1
Definition

to be willing to work with other people by combining your actions or efforts toward a shared result, or to do as you are asked in order to support someone else's effort

Example

Lan and Mira cooperated to build a new playground before the summer break.

cooperated + to-infinitive (purpose)

The two research teams cooperated on a water-quality study in rural villages.

cooperated on + project/topic

Common collocations
  • cooperate fully
  • cooperate closely
  • cooperate willingly
  • cooperate on a project
  • cooperate with authorities
  • refuse to cooperate
Synonyms
  • collaborate

    more specific to creative, intellectual, or professional joint work; implies equal contribution and a shared outcome

  • work together

    more informal and general; suits everyday situations from chores to teamwork

  • team up

    informal; suggests joining forces temporarily for a specific task or competition

  • assist

    different grammar — you assist someone (direct object); less about partnership and more about helping

Antonyms
  • oppose

    to act against instead of together with someone

  • resist

    to refuse to comply with a request or instruction

  • hinder

    to make it harder for others to achieve a goal

Grammar Patterns

cooperate + with [someone/something]

cooperate + on [project/issue]

cooperate + to [infinitive of purpose]

Usage Note

Frequently followed by the preposition 'with' to name the person or group you are working with. When the subject itself names a group, 'with' can be omitted (e.g. 'The departments cooperated on the budget'). For the compliance sub-meaning, the object of 'with' is typically a person or authority figure, and the specific action is often stated with 'by + verb-ing'.

Common Mistakes

The two teams cooperated each other.
The two teams cooperated with each other.
'cooperate' is intransitive and requires the preposition 'with' before an object.
She cooperated me on the report.
She cooperated with me on the report.
missing 'with' before the person being worked with.
We cooperated the project.
We cooperated on the project.
use 'on' (not a direct object) to introduce the task or project.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Collaborate is the closest formal synonym and is often used for intellectual or creative joint work — researchers collaborate on a paper, artists collaborate on a film. It implies a more equal, sustained partnership than cooperate. Work together is the most general and informal option, covering everything from household chores to global agreements. Team up is informal and suggests temporarily combining forces for a specific goal or competition. Assist differs grammatically: you assist someone (direct object), whereas you cooperate with someone. For example: 'Two chefs collaborated on the menu design.' 'The neighbours worked together to clear the snow.' 'The players teamed up for the doubles match.' 'She assisted the head chef during service.'

collaborate ↗work togetherteam up ↗assist ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • refuse to cooperate
  • agree to cooperate
  • in return for cooperation

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Cooperate comes from Latin cooperari, a combination of co- (together) and operari (to work). It entered English in the early 1600s, originally meaning 'to work together toward a common end.' The sense of 'being helpful by complying with a request' developed later, in the 1800s.