cop-out

American  

[kop-out] / ˈkɒpˌaʊt /

noun

Informal.

1. an act or instance of copping out; reneging; evasion.

   The governor's platform was a cop-out.

2. a person who cops out.

   Everyone helped as they had promised, except for one cop-out.

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cop out British  

verb

1. (intr, adverb) to fail to assume responsibility or to commit oneself

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noun

1. an instance of avoiding responsibility or commitment

2. a person who acts in this way

cop out Idioms  

1. Back out of a responsibility or commitment; also, take the easy way out. For example, Don't count on him; he's been known to fake illness and cop out, or She'll cop out and let her assistant do all the work. These meanings are derived from the underworld slang use of cop out for backing down or surrendering. [Late 1950s]

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Usage

What does cop-out mean? Cop-out is a slang term for the act or an instance of backing out of a situation or commitment or avoiding responsibility for something.When you take the easy way out to avoid doing something challenging or making a difficult choice, that’s a cop-out. An excuse can be called a cop-out.The term is sometimes spelled without a hyphen (cop out) or as one word (copout).The verb cop out (without a hyphen) means to back out or avoid something in this way, especially something you’ve committed to doing. Similar terms are flake and flake out. When used as a verb, cop out is usually followed by a preposition (typically on or of) and the thing being avoided or backed out of, as in You just knew he was going to cop out on us again with some lame excuse. Less commonly, cop-out can refer to a person who has copped out or who is known for copping out.Both the noun and verb senses of the word are used negatively to criticize people who cop out.Example: His response to the question is a total cop-out—he’s just afraid to answer it directly.

Etymology

Origin of cop-out

First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase cop out

Example Sentences

As I wrote about last week, all-sides dinner — regardless of the season — isn’t a cop-out.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026

I think fun’s a cop-out, sometimes, when things aren’t going well—everybody likes to say, “Well, let’s just have fun.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

The Writers Guild of America, East, which represents CBS News’ editorial union, said the parent company’s cop-out “threatens journalists’ ability to do their job reporting on powerful public figures.”

From Slate • Jul. 3, 2025

And I was like, ‘Well, that’s kind of a cop-out to just end on that, you know, it’s not that interesting. It’s not that profound.’

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2024

“They were clearly upset about other stuff. A song didn’t make them do anything. All these people are using me as a cop-out instead of asking what the real problems are.”

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas