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

• absorb
• assimilate
• embody
• incorporate
• integrate

Examples of co-opt in a Sentence

the national organization co-opted many formerly independent local groups

Recent Examples on the Web

Moreover, the detailed preservation of feathers provided insight into their original function—likely aiding thermoregulation or display before being co-opted for flight. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025

This new cadre of female body horror directors is co-opting the style of the filmmakers who came before but for a different purpose. —Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Feb. 2025

Their disillusionment with a religion co-opted to maintain white supremacy echoes in today’s religious and political landscape. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2025

Some of these features have been co-opted or repurposed for a different function due to evolutionary changes in environment, behavior, or selective pressures. —Julia Craven, Popular Science, 13 Feb. 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