cop out

verb

choose not to do something, as out of fear of failing

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She copped out when she was supposed to get into the hang glider

• Syn: ↑opt out

• Derivationally related forms: ↑copout

• Hypernyms: ↑choose, ↑prefer, ↑opt

• Verb Frames:

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Somebody ——s

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Somebody ——s PP

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I. intransitive verb

Etymology: cop (IV)

1. slang : to meet failure or death

2. slang : to cop a plea

II. intransitive verb

: to back out (as of an unwanted responsibility) : evade — often used with on or of

young Americans who cop out on society — Christian Science Monitor

copping out of jury duty through a variety of machinations — H.F.Waters

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cop out

To avoid or evade responsibility for, to refuse to participate in (copˈ-out noun)

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Main Entry: ↑cop

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ˌcop ˈout [intransitive] [present tense I/you/we/they cop out he/she/it cops out present participle copping out past tense copped out past participle copped out] informal phrasal verb

to avoid doing something that you should do because it is difficult

He has copped out of his responsibilities.

Thesaurus: to avoid doing something, or to avoid something_synonym

Main entry: cop

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avoid doing something that one ought to do

he copped out at the last moment

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cop out [phrasal verb]

informal

1 : to not do something that you are expected to do

She said she would come, but then she copped out at the last minute.

You'd better not cop out on me!

2 : to fail to deal with a problem or situation

He accused the mayor of copping out on the issue of homelessness.

— see also ↑cop-out

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Main Entry: ↑cop