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

In the mid-2010s, Young Thug borrowed from Future’s melodic blueprint, only for Future to co-opt Thug’s avant-garde vocal tics to get even weirder in his own right. —Serge Selenou, Pitchfork, 3 Mar. 2026

Loosen up, and be patriotic without fear that something like the American flag or Pledge of Allegiance has been co-opted by conservatives. —Meg Kinnard, Fortune, 3 Mar. 2026

Every second counts for skimo racers, and a skimo pack lets us mortals co-opt some of that need for speed. —Anthony Walsh, Outside, 26 Feb. 2026

However, bill authors said that data scrapers, artificial intelligence companies and scammers may be co-opting this transparency for suspect reasons and slowing down everyday Hoosiers' and journalists'requests in the process. —Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 26 Feb. 2026

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