Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

colleague

/ˈkɑliɡ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.98 in modern English

Syllables: col-league
IPA: /ˈkɑliɡ/

12

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.

verb

To unite or associate with another or with others.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial.[…]Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism. Dr Yoshimoto and his colleagues would like to add liver cancer to that list."
"Young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth ...Colleagued with the dream of his advantage, ...hath not failed to pester us with message Importing the surrender of those lands Lost by his father. - Hamlet (Act I, Scene 2)"

Etymology

From Middle French collegue, from Latin collēga (“a partner in office”), from com- (“with”) + lēgō (“to send on an embassy”), from lēx (“law”).

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: collegue, collēga

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɑliɡ/
British English: /ˈkɒliːɡ/

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

colleagues (plural) colleagues (present, singular) colleaguing (participle, present) colleagued (participle, past) colleagued (past)

Derived Forms

colleagueship noncolleague robocolleague

Frequently Paired Words

collegial collegiate

Synonyms

coworker workmate confrère confrere fellow co-worker fellow worker workfellow

Questions

How do you pronounce colleague?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑliɡ/.
What does colleague mean?: A fellow member of a profession, staff, academic faculty or other organization; an associate, a workmate.
Where does colleague come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce colleague

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “colleague”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɑliɡ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “colleague”.
Repeat and practice — Say “colleague” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.