opt in to decide to make use of or take part in something.
To receive automatic updates, opt in under the email notification section.
opt out to decide to withdraw from or not take part in something.
You can opt out of the pension plan, but you lose the employer and government contribution.
optative.
optical.
optician.
optics.
optional.
First recorded in 1875–80; from French opter “to choose, divide,” from Latin optāre “to wish for, desire, pray for, choose, select”
To opt is to choose. Given the alternative, most kids will opt for a cupcake over a ham sandwich. When you're signing up for next semester's classes, you might opt for another history class, or instead opt for advanced biology. Whenever you have more than one alternative, you have the chance to opt for something. You can also opt out of something, or choose not to do it at all. Opt comes from the French verb opter, "to choose," from the Latin root optare, "desire," and it's related to option.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Or the UK may opt to keep its precarious geopolitical position by sticking to its existing deals in medicines, metals and cars.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
From the beginning of the hearing, in a Manhattan federal court, Subramanian made clear that he planned to quash the subpoenas if the Justice Department didn’t opt to withdraw them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Should Airbus opt for this type of engine while Boeing selects a more conventional architecture, CFM believes it can cater for both giants of the air.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Under the House-approved bill, lawmakers in California and other states could opt out of making daylight saving time permanent but would need to decide before the law took effect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
It’s marvelous, in a desperate kind of way, to opt for speed over subtlety—like screaming downhill to put out the fire when your aircraft’s in flames.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
Spenser. dim. diminutive. opp. opposed. subj. subjunctive. dub. doubtful. opt. optics. suff. suffix. eccles. ecclesiastical history. orig. originally. superl. superlative. e.g. for example. ornith. ornithology. surg. surgery. elect. electricity.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Rhei opt. aa. ℈i. ol. junip. gutt. xvi. syr. bals. q. s. f. mass. in pil. xxiv. divid.
From An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses With Practical Remarks on Dropsy and Other Diseases by Withering, William
Although this latter edition be called the edit. opt. it will be evident that the editio originalis is yet a desideratum in every bibliographical collection.
From Bibliomania; or Book-Madness A Bibliographical Romance by Dibdin, Thomas Frognall
If an engineer opts for a smaller model, and that model misses something a frontier model wouldn’t have, then “the human time to figure that out is not worth the toil,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
If the Bosnia-Herzegovina international opts for Elland Road he would be Daniel Farke's second signing of the summer, after attacker Harry Wilson's free transfer from Fulham.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Or they could, once again, be cleared from the field if Mills opts for the nomination.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
Unless they are in Maui, as they were last year, Rams coach Sean McVay annually opts to cancel mandatory minicamps after the initial report day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Woo opts to see how the webbing tastes.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Successive governments have opted for a lighter voluntary due diligence regime.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Forest Service but has opted not to do that, Voisard said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Some 350 authors in the Anthropic lawsuit opted out of the settlement, with some expressing objections and betting they can recover significantly more through individual litigation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Many homeowners have opted to stay put in their current homes to maintain their low rates from years ago, which has weighed on available inventory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
To reduce the danger of health effects that might appear later, they opted for older volunteers.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
The “volatility and unpredictability” of crude’s moves has may traders opting to stay away from the oil market right now, said Jeffrey Baird, founder and portfolio manager of Merritt Point Partners.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Instead, young, broke romantics are opting for picnics in the park or conversations over coffee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
So it’s not especially surprising that Governor Kathy Hochul is opting out of adding to all of that and announcing a moratorium on building new data centers in the state.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
Businesses in Afghanistan's western city of Herat have suffered from a downturn in female customers opting to stay home following a recent crackdown by morality police on women's attire, according to shopkeepers, drivers and residents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Aimee considered opting out by claiming low blood sugar from involuntary fasting, but she decided against starting out the year as the class hypochondriac.
From "Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story" by Nora Raleigh Baskin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
