optopt /ɒpt $ ɑːpt/ ●●○ verb [intransitive] 
We finally opted for the wood finish.opt to do something Many young people are opting to go on to college.opt in phrasal verb to decide to join a group or systemopt in to Employees have the choice to opt in to the scheme.opt out phrasal verb1to avoid doing a dutyopt out of You can’t just opt out of all responsibility for the child!2to decide not to be part of a group or systemopt out of Britain wants to opt out of the new European regulations.3if a school or hospital in Britain opts out, it decides to control the money that it is given by the government, instead of being controlled by local government
WORD ORIGINopt
Origin:
1800-1900 French opter, from Latin optare ‘to choose’VERB TABLE
opt
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | opt |
| he, she, it | opts | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | opted |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have opted |
| he, she, it | has opted | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had opted |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will opt |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have opted |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am opting |
| he, she, it | is opting | |
| you, we, they | are opting | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was opting |
| you, we, they | were opting | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been opting |
| he, she, it | has been opting | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been opting |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be opting |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been opting |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- After college, Ruffin opted for the Army over college.
- When her parents divorced, Mary Ann opted to live with her father.
- As against the classical, the serenely beautiful, Nietzsche was opting for the archaic.
- For an additional £145 visitors can opt to vacate their hotel rooms for a two-night safari.
- Suppose Holt's 6-year-old does opt out of school?
- This does not mean opting out of positive training or the setting of limits.
Longman Language Activatorto finally choose something after considering all the possibilities
to finally choose something, especially when making the decision has been difficult or has taken a long time: · Have you decided on a name for the baby yet?· We couldn't decide on a new color for the kitchen, so we left it white.
if someone, especially a group of people, settles on something, they finally agree to choose that thing after considering all the possibilities, discussing it etc: · Hiroaki wanted white and I wanted black, so we settled on grey.· Can we at least settle on a date for our next meeting?· We finally settled on Miami as the site of our next conference.
British informal to choose one of two or more things after thinking carefully about it, especially if you have had difficulty in deciding: · They thought of going to Madeira or mainland Spain, but finally plumped for the Canary Islands.· She looked at every sweater in the shop before plumping for a red mohair one.
to choose something after thinking carefully about all the possibilities: opt for: · After college, Ruffin opted for the Army over college.opt to do something: · When her parents divorced, Mary Ann opted to live with her father.
to not take part in something · The President was invited to appear on the program but decided not to take part.· We tried to include Reggie in the conversation, but he didn't participate.not take part/not participate in · Party leaders have said they will not take part in the election.· She said that she didn't participate in the games because her shoulder was sore.
formal to deliberately not take part in something, because you disagree with it or think it is wrong: · They were pacifists and would take no part in the war.· Jen would have no part in forcing Gwen out of her job.· I played no part in leaking the information to the press.
to decide not to take part in a competition, race, discussion etc, which you previously agreed to take part in: · Bower was leading in the polls, but he withdrew when the scandal hit the press.withdraw from: · Clare had to withdraw from the race after injuring her knee.· It will be very sad if Jordan withdraws from politics altogether.
informal to suddenly decide not to take part in something, that has already started or is about to start, especially when this causes problems: · The show was cancelled when the star unexpectedly pulled out.· By the end of the semester about half of the students had dropped out.pull/drop out of: · It's too late to pull out of the agreement now.· Most of the other Democratic candidates had already dropped out of the presidential race.
to decide not to take part in an official system, especially one that has not started yet: · Employees who do not wish to be part of the company's healthcare program can opt out if they want to.opt out of: · The treaty gave Britain the right to opt out of the single European currency system.
to not be involved in any way in something bad or illegal - use this especially when other people think that you were involved: · I'm sure that Tony had nothing to do with the robbery.· Connie had nothing to do with the break-up of my marriage.· The editor pointed out that he had nothing to do with the discredited advertising campaign.
to stop taking part in something that you were actively involved in before: · Lineker was injured and took no further part in the game.· Schmidt's lawyer said that he would take no further part in the trial.
an armchair critic, sportsman, revolutionary etc is someone who does not take part in politics, sport etc but who reads a lot about it or watches it on television, especially someone who thinks they know better than the people doing it and is ready to give them advice: · It's very easy to be an armchair critic but much harder to come up with solutions that will work.· Armchair travellers can now visit the world's most exotic countries via the Internet.· Like most armchair sportsmen, Terry is sure he understands the game better than the referees.
if you stay, sit, or wait on the sidelines when something is happening, you do not take part in it, even though you may want to or should do: · You can't just wait on the sidelines and hope things will improve.· How can we sit on the sidelines when thousands of innocent civilians are being killed.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES an opt-out clauseCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
an opt-out clause· We are not committed to opting in by anything in either clause 2 or any later part of the treaty.· I recoil at the idea of opting in as strongly as I hurt at the implications of opting out.
· They may instead opt for a production, product or sales-orientation. 4.· That is like an obese person with unhealthy eating habits deciding against making dietary changes and opting instead for liposuction.· After obtaining her degree, she decided against teaching, opting instead for a career as a freelance translator.· Frequently, business writers ask questions and neglect to answer them, opting instead to provide related, yet loosely connected information.· But she refused to deal, opting instead to await the crown she believed was hers.· They can opt instead to send children to private schools.
· Their attitude is seen as giving Third World nations a licence to opt out themselves.· I recoil at the idea of opting in as strongly as I hurt at the implications of opting out.· Those schemes do not represent opting out, as hospitals will remain within the National Health Service.· Also, any programme should allow people to opt out if they wish.· Calday Grange Grammar School also faced a second ballot over opting out after it applied for grant-maintained status last year.· People tend to opt out, criticize themselves, not accept compliments, not make decisions and feel frustrated.· Three other schools are to have ballots of parents on opting out, in response to regional rationalisation plans.
NOUN· Even more important, they are allowed to opt out of local authority control.· There are divisions too on schools opting out of local authority control and on the National Curriculum.· Schools and housing associations can opt out of local authority control.· It's opting out of local authority control.· The 1988 Housing Act, as we have seen, offered tenants the opportunity to opt out of local authority control.
· Even more important, they are allowed to opt out of local authority control.· Hospitals that have chosen to opt out of health-authority control and become self-governing will start running their own affairs.· The government's already allowed seventeen hospitals to opt out of the control of their local health boards.· There are divisions too on schools opting out of local authority control and on the National Curriculum.· Schools and housing associations can opt out of local authority control.· It's opting out of local authority control.· The 1988 Housing Act, as we have seen, offered tenants the opportunity to opt out of local authority control.
· Few or no other routes were available and so it was a most logical decision to opt for the sporting escape.· The decision to opt for sewage composting was made largely in order to reduce the need for water for flushing the toilet.· The decision to opt out of the requirement to scrummage changed the whole nature of the game.· Unfortunately, the decision to opt for smoothness rather than scruffiness, composure rather than gaucheness, is not an innocent choice.
· Also, any programme should allow people to opt out if they wish.· The problem is that instead of getting angry and fighting back, so many people are opting out instead.· The aim is that those young people who opt for early leaving would themselves be substantial gainers.· Most people now opt for one of the textured nylons, such as Ardura, Cordura or Kodra.· There's a religious revival in card designs, but most people opt out for holly and robins.· The positive feature today is that more people now opt for a position in the middle.· Perhaps it's because so many people are opting not to bother.· The cracks in the moral edifice are visibly growing: people are beginning to opt out of its orthodoxies.
· Many of those who feel they are achieving least, and are most disruptive in schools, would opt for early leaving.· There are divisions too on schools opting out of local authority control and on the National Curriculum.· Some believe the school should opt out and reduce pupil numbers.· He said the Lib Dems would encourage school opting out but stop hospitals taking control of their own finances.· It also promises a new funding body as more schools chose to opt out.
· The draft student charter would allow students to opt out of their associations and would constrain unions within the law on charitable status.· Honours students may opt to include two literature in translation courses in their curriculum.
VERB· The draft student charter would allow students to opt out of their associations and would constrain unions within the law on charitable status.· Income transfers, in contrast, allow individuals to effectively opt out of the capitalistic process.· Even more important, they are allowed to opt out of local authority control.· Also, any programme should allow people to opt out if they wish.· Only large practices would be allowed to opt for the scheme.
· Hospitals that have chosen to opt out of health-authority control and become self-governing will start running their own affairs.· But it chose race, opting for diversity on the otherwise all-white business staff.· Clearly then, if the company is to choose one it should opt for the first.· It also promises a new funding body as more schools chose to opt out.
· After obtaining her degree, she decided against teaching, opting instead for a career as a freelance translator.· The two girls decide instead to opt for a frantic search for their long-lost father.
WORD FAMILYverboptcooptnounoptionadjectiveoptionaladverboptionally
to choose one thing or do one thing instead of anotheropt for We finally opted for the wood finish.opt to do something Many young people are opting to go on to college.opt in phrasal verb to decide to join a group or systemopt in to Employees have the choice to opt in to the scheme.opt out phrasal verb1to avoid doing a dutyopt out of You can’t just opt out of all responsibility for the child!2to decide not to be part of a group or systemopt out of Britain wants to opt out of the new European regulations.3if a school or hospital in Britain opts out, it decides to control the money that it is given by the government, instead of being controlled by local government