From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconspiracycon‧spi‧ra‧cy /kənˈspɪrəsi/ ●○○ noun (plural conspiracies) [countable, uncountable] 1 PLANa secret plan made by two or more people to do something that is harmful or illegal → conspireconspiracy to do something He was charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage.conspiracy against a conspiracy against the government There were many conspiracy theories (=beliefs that something is the result of a conspiracy) surrounding Princess Diana’s death.► see thesaurus at plan2 → conspiracy of silenceCOLLOCATIONSadjectivesan international/worldwide/global conspiracyHitler believed there was a worldwide conspiracy to enslave Germany.a criminal conspiracyHis crimes were illegal possession of arms and criminal conspiracy.a political conspiracyWere the killings part of a political conspiracy?an alleged conspiracy (=that people say exists but that is not yet proved to exist)The charges against him relate to an alleged conspiracy.verbsbe part of a conspiracy (also take part in a conspiracy)The jury found that Poindexter was part of a conspiracy to ship arms to Iran.be involved in a conspiracyApparently the commander of the army had also been involved in the conspiracy.be charged with conspiracy (=be formally accused of it)The women were charged with conspiracy to supply heroin.be convicted of conspiracy (=be found guilty of it in a court)He was convicted of conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts.conspiracy + NOUNa conspiracy theory (=a belief by a number of people that something is the result of a conspiracy)President Kennedy’s assassination inspired a lot of conspiracy theories.a conspiracy theorist (=someone who believes in a particular conspiracy)Conspiracy theorists believe that Princess Diana’s death was not an accident.a conspiracy charge/charge of conspiracyThree men have been convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges.
Examples from the Corpus
conspiracy• Being something of a conspiracy buff, I believe this deal has been in the offing for quite some time.• There was a conspiracy to defraud the company of millions of dollars.• But how this complaint lines up with the alleged conspiracy and fraudulent conduct is not clear to me.• He was entranced by his own thoughts, and dazzled by the elegant simplicity of his conspiracy theories.• The convictions included murder, conspiracy to murder, racketeering and conspiracy to distribute drugs in prison.• The charges included racketeering, conspiracy, bank fraud, securities fraud, misapplication of funds and interstate transportation of stolen property.• Reynolds was charged with conspiracy against the government.• In this way, the strategy proceeds from the same antisemitic assumptions and stereotypes as the more familiar and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.conspiracy theories• These people have enough conspiracy theories on their plates.• Like all good conspiracy theories, the polio vaccine theory's originators are its worst enemies.• Swanson knows his conspiracy theories, and his portrait of Dallas, mainly rancid, saves you the trip.• He was entranced by his own thoughts, and dazzled by the elegant simplicity of his conspiracy theories.• Both events ended in deaths, and, presumably, fueled a thousand conspiracy theories in the heartland.• Those blacks dedicated to conspiracy theories see white devils behind the murders of both Shakur and Wallace.• The air is thick with conspiracy theories whenever the regime feels threatened.• In this way, the strategy proceeds from the same antisemitic assumptions and stereotypes as the more familiar and anti-Zionist conspiracy theories.From Longman Business Dictionaryconspiracycon‧spi‧ra‧cy /kənˈspɪrəsi/ noun (plural conspiracies) [countable, uncountable] a secret plan that is made by two or more people to do something harmful or illegalconspiracy to do somethingAll three men were charged with conspiracy to defraud.a conspiracy against something/somebodyThe company appears to be looking for proof of an industry-wide conspiracy against it. 