Dictionary.com
definitions

cop-out

[ kop-out ]
/ ˈkɒpˌaʊt /
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cop-out ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

claim, pleading, apology, explanation, argument, allegation, action, alibi, ploy, ruse, excuse, guise, pretense, pact, accord, adjustment, deal, bargain, understanding, arrangement

Nearby words

  1. copley,
  2. copley, john singleton,
  3. copolymer,
  4. copolymer resin,
  5. copolymerize,
  6. coppelia,
  7. copper,
  8. copper age,
  9. copper and stone age,
  10. copper arsenite

Origin of cop-out

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

Definition for copout (2 of 2)

cop

1
[ kop ]
/ kɒp /

verb (used with object), copped, cop·ping. Informal.

to catch; nab.
to steal; filch.
to buy (narcotics).

Verb Phrases

cop out,
  1. to avoid one's responsibility, the fulfillment of a promise, etc.; renege; back out (often followed by on or of): He never copped out on a friend in need. You agreed to go, and you can't cop out now.
  2. cop a plea.

Origin of cop

1
1695–1705; compare cap (obsolete) to arrest, Scots cap to seize ≪ dialectal Old French caper to take, ultimately < Latin capere
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for copout (1 of 4)

cop

1
/ (kɒp) slang /

noun

verb cops, copping or copped (tr)

See also cop off, cop out

Word Origin for cop

C18: (vb) perhaps from obsolete cap to arrest, from Old French caper to seize; sense 1, back formation from copper ²

British Dictionary definitions for copout (2 of 4)

cop

2
/ (kɒp) /

noun

a conical roll of thread wound on a spindle
mainly dialect the top or crest, as of a hill

Word Origin for cop

Old English cop, copp top, summit, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old English copp cup

British Dictionary definitions for copout (3 of 4)

cop

3
/ (kɒp) /

noun

British slang (usually used with a negative) worth or valuethat work is not much cop

Word Origin for cop

C19: n use of cop 1 (in the sense: to catch, hence something caught, something of value)

British Dictionary definitions for copout (4 of 4)

COP

abbreviation for (in New Zealand)

Certificate of Proficiency: a pass in a university subject
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