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Words with the prefix co-

co- means “together; joint; mutual”, from Latin.

15 examples of the prefix co-

  1. costarco- + starshare starring role with another
  2. coworkerco- + workerperson who works alongside you
  3. coexistco- + existexist together at the same time
  4. cooperateco- + operatework together toward a goal
  5. coordinateco- + ordinatearrange things to work together
  6. coauthorco- + authorwrite together with another person
  7. copilotco- + pilotfly jointly with another pilot
  8. coeducationco- + educationjoint education of both sexes
  9. coalitionco- + alitiongroups joined together for purpose
  10. cognitionco- + gnitionknowing together with the mind
  11. coherentco- + herentsticking together in logical way
  12. collaborateco- + laboratelabor together on a project
  13. correspondco- + respondrespond mutually; communicate together
  14. coerceco- + ercecompel by joint pressure or force
  15. contemporaneousco- + temporaneousexisting together at the same time

How co- works

The prefix 'co-' typically attaches to nouns, verbs, and adjectives without changing their part of speech, simply adding the sense of jointness or mutuality. Before vowels it sometimes takes a hyphen (co-opt) or merges smoothly, and before certain consonants it assimilates into 'col-' (collaborate), 'com-' (combine), 'con-' (connect), or 'cor-' (correspond).

Watch out: Words like 'copy,' 'cobra,' 'code,' and 'comet' look like they begin with 'co-' but the letters are simply part of the root with no 'together' meaning.

To see prefixes combine with other parts, try the word dissector and root builder, or test yourself in the vocabulary quiz.

Other common prefixes

Questions people ask

What does the prefix co- mean?

co- means “together; joint; mutual”. It comes from Latin. The prefix 'co-' typically attaches to nouns, verbs, and adjectives without changing their part of speech, simply adding the sense of jointness or mutuality. Before vowels it sometimes takes a hyphen (co-opt) or merges smoothly, and before certain consonants it assimilates into 'col-' (collaborate), 'com-' (combine), 'con-' (connect), or 'cor-' (correspond).

What are some examples of words with the prefix co-?

costar, coworker, coexist, cooperate, coordinate, coauthor, copilot, coeducation. The full list of 15 examples, with what each one literally means, is above.

Which words look like they have the prefix co- but don’t?

Words like 'copy,' 'cobra,' 'code,' and 'comet' look like they begin with 'co-' but the letters are simply part of the root with no 'together' meaning.

What is a prefix?

A prefix is a word part added to the front of a base word or root to change its meaning, like un- in unhappy or re- in rewrite. It does not usually change the part of speech.