co-authors

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Two or more people who write a book, article, or report together.

   Grammar: Plural of co-author; use with a plural verb: The co-authors are revising the paper.

   Patterns

   • co-authors of something
   • co-authors on something

   The two co-authors divided the chapters equally.

   She thanked her co-authors for their helpful comments.

   The co-authors of the study come from three universities.

2. 2verbtransitive

   Writes a book, article, or report together with someone else.

   Grammar: Takes an object: co-authors a paper with a colleague. Third-person singular form of co-author.

   Patterns

   • co-authors something with someone

   He co-authors a weekly column with a political scientist.

   The professor co-authors textbooks for high school students.

   She co-authors research papers with her former students.

Word forms

Common combinations

co-authors of a study

The co-authors of the study met to discuss the results.

co-authors a book

She co-authors a book with a famous historian.

co-authors a paper

They co-author a paper every year for the conference.

co-authors with someone

He co-authors with a colleague from another department.

list of co-authors

The list of co-authors appears on the first page.

Synonyms and how they differ

collaborator

A more general word for someone you work with; a co-author specifically shares the writing credit.

co-writer

Very close in meaning, but often used for scripts, songs, or less formal writing.

Word family

co-author noun

One of the people who write something together.

co-authorship noun

The state or fact of writing something together.

author noun

The writer of a book, article, etc.

authorship noun

The origin or credit for writing something.

Commonly confused: co-authors or coauthor?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “co-authors”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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