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

However, as institutional players co-opt its narrative, its fundamental properties are threatened. —Susie Violet Ward, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025

These styles have been co-opted in fashion shows and by non-Black influencers, often stripped of their cultural significance. —Lyric Christian, Essence, 16 Jan. 2025

Thousands of the world's most popular apps, including Candy Crush and Tinder, are likely co-opted as part of a hack of location data company Gravy Analytics. —Sam Sabin, Axios, 10 Jan. 2025

Some of the world’s most popular apps are likely being co-opted by rogue members of the advertising industry to harvest sensitive location data on a massive scale, with that data ending up with a location data company whose subsidiary has previously sold global location data to US law enforcement. —Joseph Cox, WIRED, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin cooptare, from co- + optare to choose

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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