conspire
verb
con·spire
kən-ˈspī(-ə)r 
conspired; conspiring
1
a
: to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or an act which becomes unlawful as a result of the secret agreement
accused of conspiring to overthrow the government
conspired to monopolize and restrict trade
b
: scheme
2
: to act in harmony toward a common end
Circumstances conspired to defeat his efforts.
… the sun and the wind conspired to make splinters out of solid wood.—
B. J. Oliphant
B. J. OliphantExamples of conspire in a Sentence
conspired to replace the leader with someone more easily influenced
foul weather and airline foul-ups seemed to be conspiring to ruin our vacation
Recent Examples on the Web
He was accused of conspiring to fix games to benefit gamblers and later spent 15 months in federal prison because of it.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
He was charged with conspiring to fix high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that were backed by Mafia families.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Trump faced criminal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, concealing documents and making false statements.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conspire
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Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2025
He was charged with conspiring to fix high-stakes card games in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan and the Hamptons that were backed by Mafia families.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2025
He had been found guilty of conspiring to raise funds from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi to finance his campaign, and became the first post-World War II leader in France to go to jail.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025
Trump faced criminal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, concealing documents and making false statements.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conspire
Cite this Entry
“Conspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conspire. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
conspire
verb
con·spire
kən-ˈspī(ə)r
conspired; conspiring
1
: to agree secretly to do an unlawful act : plot
conspiring to overthrow the dictator
2
: to act together
delays and the weather conspired to spoil our vacation
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