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

Along with co-op facilities, he also purchased a plot of land in Delano to house the union’s first headquarters and learned how to handle media amid Chávez’s historic fasts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

For a $20 salary, Chatfield brainstormed how to create co-op facilities such as clinics and pharmacies as one-stop spots for farmworkers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Adding to the confusion, letters told homeowners they have until Aug. 21 to submit an exemption application if they live in a townhouse or condominium, and until Aug. 24 if they live in a co-op.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

It will also be useful if he is buying in a co-op whose board has the final say on whether he’s admitted.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

This time of year they’re paying two bucks a pound for lobster at the co-op.

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