colleague

[kol-eeg]

noun

1. an associate.

colleague

/ ˈkɒliːɡ /

noun

1. a fellow worker or member of a staff, department, profession, etc

Other Word Forms

• colleagueship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of colleague¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Middle French collegue, from Latin collēga, equivalent to col- “with, together” ( col- ¹ ) + -lēga, derivative of legere “to choose, gather”

Word History and Origins

Origin of colleague¹

C16: from French collègue, from Latin collēga one selected at the same time as another, from com- together + lēgāre to choose

Example Sentences

Even after he retired, Christine would write emails to friends and colleagues recounting people and events from his career in racing and baseball.

From Los Angeles Times

The MP warned: ''Many Labour colleagues fear that with the economy under strain, ministers may be tempted to drag their feet on implementation as an olive branch to business.''

From BBC

"Our hearts go out to her family, friends, colleagues, and students during this difficult time," he wrote.

From BBC

Just a few years earlier, bosses and colleagues praised Marc as a superlative manager.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Smith and his former colleague Clyde Foreman, a former supervisory special agent, recall urging their colleagues to make the arrest once he had been identified as the main suspect.

From BBC

Related Words

• aide 
• ally 
• assistant 
• buddy 
• co-worker 
• companion 
• comrade 
• friend 
• partner 
• teammate 

When To Use

What does colleague mean?

A colleague is someone you work with or someone who’s in the same profession as you, especially a peer within that profession.Colleague can be a synonym for coworker, which is someone who has the same employer as you. But it also used to refer to people who have different employers but who work in the same or a very similar profession, especially when they regularly interact or share knowledge. For example, two medical researchers who work for different universities but who collaborate to publish research findings would be called colleagues.Example: Sarah has received an outpouring of support from her fellow attorneys at the firm as well as many of her colleagues in the legal community.