cop-out
[ kop-out ]
/ ˈkɒpˌaʊt /
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noun Informal.
an act or instance of copping out; reneging; evasion: The governor's platform was a cop-out.
a person who cops out: Everyone helped as they had promised, except for one cop-out.
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Origin of cop-out
First recorded in 1940–45; noun use of verb phrase cop out
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
How to use cop-out in a sentence
Refusing to do so on the basis of ethnic solidarity is an unprincipled copout.
British Dictionary definitions for cop-out
cop out
/ slang /
verb
(intr, adverb) to fail to assume responsibility or to commit oneself
noun cop-out
an instance of avoiding responsibility or commitment
a person who acts in this way
Word Origin for cop out
C20: probably from cop 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with cop-out
cop out
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]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.