co-opted; co-opting; co-opts
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
A. C. Danto
b
: take over, appropriate
a style co-opted by advertisers
Examples of co-opt in a Sentence
the national organization co-opted many formerly independent local groups
Recent Examples on the Web
A lot of the stuff that people think is new or innovative now is actually something that’s been borrowed or co-opted from something else that came before, or it was at least inspired by something that came before.
—Marah Eakin, Vulture, 20 May 2026
The tradition endures even as most people quietly agree that art probably shouldn’t be co-opted by the agendas of nation-states.
—Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
In some areas, the guards themselves have been infiltrated or co-opted by criminal organizations.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
Oligarchs scooped up major publications and donated them to a consolidated media foundation, co-opting the free press and turning it into the Prime Minister’s bullhorn.
—Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for co-opt
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Marah Eakin, Vulture, 20 May 2026
The tradition endures even as most people quietly agree that art probably shouldn’t be co-opted by the agendas of nation-states.
—Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
In some areas, the guards themselves have been infiltrated or co-opted by criminal organizations.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 13 May 2026
Oligarchs scooped up major publications and donated them to a consolidated media foundation, co-opting the free press and turning it into the Prime Minister’s bullhorn.
—Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for co-opt
Cite this Entry
“Co-opt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/co-opt. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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