co ‧ op ‧ e ‧ rate AC BrE AmE ( also co-operate British English ) /kəʊˈɒpəreɪt $ koʊˈɑːp-/ verb [intransitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ operation , ↑ cooperation , ↑ operative , ↑ cooperative , ↑ operator ; adjective : ↑ operational , ↑ operative , ↑ cooperative ≠ ↑ uncooperative ; verb : ↑ operate , ↑ cooperate ; adverb : ↑ operationally , ↑ cooperatively ]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ cooperation , ↑ cooperative ; verb : ↑ cooperate ; adverb : ↑ cooperatively ≠ UNCOOPERATIVELY ; adjective : ↑ cooperative ≠ ↑ uncooperative ]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Late Latin ; Origin: past participle of cooperari , from Latin co- ( ⇨ ↑ co- ) + operari 'to work' ]
1 . to work with someone else to achieve something that you both want
cooperate in/on
The two universities are to cooperate in the development of a new industrial process.
They agreed to co-operate with Brazil on a programme to protect the rain forests.
cooperate with
Lions cooperate with each other when hunting game.
As chairman I was anxious to co-operate with Mr Baker as far as possible.
The church seeks to cooperate closely with local schools.
cooperate to do something
Both sides agreed to co-operate to prevent illegal fishing in the area.
2 . to do what someone wants you to do
cooperate with
I advised my client to cooperate fully with the police.
If you refuse to co-operate, I’ll kill you.