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I'm looking for a word that can be a drop-in replacement for collocate, but referring to things existing or occurring at the same time as opposed to at same place.

I've considered cotemporate but it sounds made-up.

Example usage:

I will collocate the two meetings so that they start and finish at the same time

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    You could verb coincident if you enjoy incomprehensible corporate buzzwords, but plan or schedule fit in your blank nicely.
    – jejorda2
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 14:04
  • 'colocated' doesn't mean 'at the exact same location' but rather 'closely nearby'. Do you want a time that is exactly the same or just time that is nearby?
    – Mitch
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 14:19
  • While "cotemporate" is indeed made up, "contemporize" is defined at merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemporize as "to make contemporary".
    – Doug Warren
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 14:27
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    I like coordinate here.
    – Steve Lovell
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 16:02
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    You're thinking too hard about this. I will schedule the two meetings for the same time. or... I will schedule the meetings to run in parallel
    – J...
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 17:54

9 Answers 9

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Synchronize will work for you. It can be used transitively just like collocate.

synchronize (verb) trans. To cause to be, or represent as, synchronous; to assign the same date to; to bring together events, etc. belonging to the same time. (OED)

Requested example usage:

I will synchronize the two meetings so that they start and finish at the same time.

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    If you ignore the Latin/Greek difference, both words are incredibly similar: "Co(n)" (together) + "Locatus" (location) and "Syn" (together) + "Chronos" (time).
    – Flater
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 14:42
  • Actually, isn't adding "...so that they start and finish at the same time." redundant? Couldn't you just say "I will synchronize the two meetings." to be more concise?
    – thomj1332
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 18:05
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    This is ideal for the asker's particular example, as synchronization applies not only to the start of the events but also their duration. If the two meetings started at the same time but ran different lengths, then you might say their start times are synchronized, but the meetings themselves are not.
    – talrnu
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 18:40
  • Considering the etymological research given by Flater in the comment above, I would be interested in the reason for the downvote. Not that I am offended, but by definition and etymology, this word is an exact drag-and-drop replacement for collocate which is what the OP asked for. If it was @Mazura's downvote, I'd say "Just because swimmers have made this word popular doesn't mean they have the right to a monopoly!"
    – thomj1332
    Commented Jul 29, 2017 at 13:21
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Not an exact equivalent, but specifically for your example I'd simply use "schedule." You want a verb, and this comes closest to "arrange in time."

I will collocate the two meetings so that they start and finish at the same time

I will schedule the two meetings so that they start and finish at the same time

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  • You can also schedule them so they aren't at the same time. By itself the word doesn't fit the requirement.
    – Barmar
    Commented Jul 29, 2017 at 15:39
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Coexist (from Merriam-Webster):

to exist together or at the same time

Coincide

to occupy the same place in space or time

Example:

My meetings coincide with each other.

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    coincide 2. To happen at the same time or during the same period. – TFD Your example lends itself to the first definition, which includes time and/or space. Since no one has to attend both, I've scheduled the meetings to coincide.
    – Mazura
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 19:05
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    Based off of the example given in the question, OP is looking for a transitive verb, not an intransitive verb.
    – Seldom 'Where's Monica' Needy
    Commented Jul 29, 2017 at 1:33
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You may use the adjective simultaneous or adverb simultaneously

Simultaneous: Happening, existing, or done at the same time.

You may set up simultaneous meetings

Or

You may set up meetings simultaneously

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    The latter phrasing, "set up meetings simultaneously", actually applies the adverb simultaneously to the verb phrase set up. This suggests you'll do the work of setting up one meeting at the same time you'll do the same work for the other meeting; the two meetings could still occur at different times. More accurate would be "set up meetings to occur simultaneously".
    – talrnu
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 18:02
  • @talmu, I got your point. Agreed. Adverb leads to ambiguity.
    – Mustafa
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 18:13
  • OP asks for a verb.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Aug 2, 2017 at 18:33
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I will parallelise the two meetings

or more simply :

I will run the two meetings in parallel.

An similar example example, quoting Wikipedia:

A large meeting will usually be called a conference, while a smaller is termed a workshop. They might be single track or multiple track, where the former has only one session at a time, while a multiple track meeting has several parallel sessions with speakers in separate rooms speaking at the same time.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_conference

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I don't think it's made it into any dictionaries yet, but I hear "coschedule" at conferences and around the office fairly frequently.

I believe a typical English speaker would understand this just fine, although if you're in an extremely-formal written context, you might pick another expression, since this word is still emerging in terms of recognition in general use.

Note however that it's not a new term; there's a Wikipedia entry that describes its usage in the context of computing (apparently dating back to 1982) that fits what you want just fine:

Coscheduling is the principle for concurrent systems of scheduling related processes to run... in parallel.

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Collocate is still the word you want. No need to replace it. The word "location" is not restricted to spatial locations but can be temporal as well. A location in time is just as much a location as a location in space. In fact, strictly speaking, all locations are spatiotemporal.

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    This would introduce the potential for confusion. Are the meetings now in the same location? Are they sharing the meeting space? Are the two meetings combined into one meeting?
    – thomj1332
    Commented Jul 28, 2017 at 20:46
  • "temporally collocate"
    – Colin
    Commented Jul 30, 2017 at 0:46
  • @ColinZwanziger - There's a single word for that, the second definition of which IMO is the colloquial (since spatiotemporal is not a colloquial concept) : coincide
    – Mazura
    Commented Jul 30, 2017 at 19:33
  • @thomj1332 that possibility for confusion would seem to be inherent in the question and thus all possible answers.
    – dev_willis
    Commented Aug 9, 2017 at 20:18
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coterminous

having the same boundaries or extent in space, time, or meaning. Oxford

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  • Based off of his example, OP is looking for a verb or verb-phrase. This answer would be correct if the word were the adjective "collocated".
    – Seldom 'Where's Monica' Needy
    Commented Jul 29, 2017 at 1:31
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Expanding on Steve Lovell suggestion, coordinate would be a correct word. Citing Cambridge Online Dictionary:

coordinate: to make various, separate things work together

You want those meetings to "work together" at the same time and unlike other answers, coordinating meetings is already a common phrase, so you don't risk awkward phrasing or misunderstandings, when using this word.

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