cop out
To avoid or shirk, either by failing to perform, or by performing in a grossly insufficient, negligent, or superficial manner.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Don't cop out of doing your share of the work.”
“You always cop out when it is time to wash the dishes.”
“Do not cop out just because the exercise feels a bit difficult.”
“He decided to cop out of the difficult project by claiming he was too busy to help.”
“The manager chose to cop out by blaming the software instead of admitting he made a mistake during the presentation.”
“She felt like she had to cop out of the marathon because she did not train enough during the winter.”
“Rather than addressing the fundamental flaws in his proposal, he chose to cop out by offering a series of vague and unhelpful excuses.”
first recorded 20th c.
First attested in 1942 as a colloquialism for the act of fleeing or escaping, the term originated from the phrase to cop an out. The construction reflects a variation of the slang sense of cop as a verb for obtaining or taking, here applied to the procurement of a convenient exit.
Last updated August 10, 2026