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co-opt

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verb [transitive] British English pronunciation: co-opt /kəʊˈɒpt/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theyco-opt
he/she/itco-opts
present participleco-opting
past tenseco-opted
past participleco-opted
  1. 1
    British if a committee, group etc co-opts someone, they agree to make that person a member

    Up to four additional members can be co-opted onto the Council to fulfil specific requirements.

  2. 2
    to try to control someone or stop them from harming you by bringing them into your own group or organization

    These industry-wide gatherings are used by the major companies to co-opt their smaller competitors.

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