Definition of the word co-opt

Pronunciation of vocabulary co-opt

co-optverb

Co-opt

/ˌkəʊ ˈɒpt//ˌkəʊ ˈɑːpt/

Origin of the word co-opt

Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin cooptare, from co- ‘together’ + optare ‘choose’.

Example of vocabulary co-optnamespace

meaning

to make somebody a member of a group, committee, etc. by the agreement of all the other members

  • She was co-opted onto the board.
meaning

to change somebody/something to a different role from the usual or original one; to take somebody's idea and use it for your own purposes

  • Politicians have been trying to co-opt the movement without embracing its values.

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