co-op

American

[koh-op, koh-op, koh-op] / ˈkoʊ ɒp, ˈkoʊ ɒp, koʊˈɒp /

noun

a cooperative store, dwelling, program, etc.

verb (used with object)

co-oped, co-opped, co-oping, co-opping

to place in a cooperative arrangement, especially to convert (an apartment or building) to a cooperative.

adjective

(of a game, especially a video game) cooperative, requiring players to work together to achieve a common objective: co-op multiplayer games.

co-op play modes;
co-op multiplayer games.

idioms

go co-op, to convert to a cooperative.

Our apartment building is going co-op.

Other Word Forms

co-oper

noun

Etymology

Origin of co-op

First recorded in 1860–65; shortened form

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

co-op co-oping

Property records show that fashion designer Vera Wang owns a unit inside the co-op, as does billionaire hedge fund manager Israel Englander.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026

Members of the co-op mainly bought mountaineering equipment imported from Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026

Because of his connection to the co-op, he was appointed equipment coordinator of the Everest climb, and REI agreed to keep him on the payroll during the expedition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

An entity linked to the billionaire purchased Karen Pritzker’s co-op at the Carlyle—the same unit where Kennedy famously stayed during his visits to the city.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

One day I’m going by the fish co-op when a big sport-fishing boat is unloading.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick

We worry that a return to six-man football might lead to a breakup of some schools already co-oping and on the road to consolidation.

From Washington Times ● May 25, 2018

For years, stores have used less obtrusive forms of co-advertising, called co-oping, in their catalogs to offset the rising costs of postage and printing.

From Time Magazine Archive

Prominent communitarian Amitai Etzioni, in highlighting the shortcomings of most institutionalized child care, has duly stressed the virtues of parents' "co-oping," working part time at day-care centers.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023