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 adjective
co-option noun
co-optive adjective

Examples of co-opt in a Sentence

the national organization co-opted many formerly independent local groups
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Critics argue that far from protecting the dignity of the monarch, the law has been co-opted to silence all dissent. Charlie Campbell, Time, 26 June 2025 This is a helpful and pragmatic approach and role models how healthcare policy can co-opt digitisation without a wholesale depersonalisation takeover. Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 25 June 2025 The game’s narrative eventually shows the player how digital systems can be co-opted for political purposes by the companies that run them, and how the spectral frisson of virtual likes and online exchanges can, in time, flatten us. Simon Parkin, The Atlantic, 23 June 2025 Bannon also pushed back at Netanyahu's attempt to co-opt MAGA phrases, citing specifically what the Israeli prime minister told ABC News' Jonathan Karl on Monday as part of his campaign to pressure Trump to act. Rick Klein, ABC News, 18 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for co-opt

Word History

Etymology

Latin cooptare, from co- + optare to choose

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of co-opt was in 1651

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Co-opt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/co-opt. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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

More from Merriam-Webster on co-opt

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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