co-opt

verb

kō-ˈäpt 

co-opted; co-opting; co-opts

transitive verb

1

a

: to choose or elect as a member

members co-opted to the committee

b

: to appoint as a colleague or assistant

2

a

: to take into a group (such as a faction, movement, or culture) : absorb, assimilate

The students are co-opted by a system they serve even in their struggle against it.

—A. C. Danto

b

: take over, appropriate

a style co-opted by advertisers

co-optative

kō-ˈäp-tə-tiv 

adjective

co-option

kō-ˈäp-shən 

noun

co-optive

kō-ˈäp-tiv 

adjective

Synonyms of co-opt

• integrate
• incorporate
• assimilate

Examples of co-opt in a Sentence

the national organization co-opted many formerly independent local groups

Recent Examples on the Web

Average citizens are co-opted into reporting any sightings of contestants to a hotline. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Nov. 2025

The challenge facing Jewish fiction writers today is in telling that story or stories like it — stories in which Jews behave badly in the name of Judaism — without fear that our work will be used against us or co-opted to nefarious ends. —Andrew Ridker, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025

So the method here is to co-opt the hysterical semiotics of alt-righters for sickle supremacy. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 24 Oct. 2025

Twice now, the Mamdani campaign has rolled out television spots aimed at co-opting and spoofing huge entertainment industry franchises — ABC’s The Bachelor and CBS’ Survivor. —Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin cooptare, from co- + optare to choose

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for co-opt

• adopt
• estopped
• chopped
• cropped
• dropped
• dropt
• flopped
• hopped
• lopped
• mopped
• opt
• plopped

Kids Definition

co-opt

verb

kō-ˈäpt

co-opted; co-opting

1

: to take into a group (as a faction, movement, or culture) : assimilate

2

: take over, appropriate sense 1

a style co-opted by advertisers