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

Billions are at stake as winners seek to sustain patronage networks, co-opt independents, and assert their dominance. —Nabil Salih, Time, 4 Dec. 2025

Which is clearly a metaphor for some sort of childhood trauma the filmmaker’s processing which co-opted his parental bonds as a young child. —Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025

Nevertheless, memes spread across the web and were, like the Kirk images, another piece of internet culture the MAGA meme machine could not embrace, co-opt, or even subtly dogwhistle. —Ryan Broderick, Rolling Stone, 24 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

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