colleague

Meaning

1. 1nouncountable

   A person who works in the same organization or profession as you, usually at a similar level.

   Grammar: Countable: a colleague, my colleagues; often used with possessives.

   Patterns

   • a colleague of someone
   • a colleague at work
   • a former colleague

   I asked a colleague to cover my shift.

   Her colleagues threw her a party when she retired.

   He is a respected colleague in the field of biology.

Word forms

Common combinations

a fellow colleague

I discussed the plan with a fellow colleague.

a former colleague

A former colleague recommended her for the job.

a close colleague

He is a close colleague and a friend.

senior colleague

She asked a senior colleague for advice.

colleagues and friends

The farewell card was signed by colleagues and friends.

Synonyms and how they differ

coworker

Coworker is more casual and common in American English, while colleague sounds slightly more professional.

associate

Associate can mean a business partner or someone linked to you, whereas colleague means someone you work alongside.

teammate

Teammate suggests belonging to the same sports or project team, but colleague only requires the same workplace or field.

peer

Peer emphasizes equal rank or age, but colleague emphasizes working together.

Opposites

Word family

collegial adjective

friendly and cooperative among colleagues

collegiality noun

friendly cooperation between colleagues

college noun

a school or group sharing a profession

colleague-ship noun

rare term for working relationships

Commonly confused: colleague or college? colleague or collogue?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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