opt

verb

/ɒpt/

/ɑːpt/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they opt	/ɒpt/ /ɑːpt/
he / she / it opts	/ɒpts/ /ɑːpts/
past simple opted	/ˈɒptɪd/ /ˈɑːptɪd/
past participle opted	/ˈɒptɪd/ /ˈɑːptɪd/
-ing form opting	/ˈɒptɪŋ/ /ˈɑːptɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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to choose to take or not to take a particular course of action
- opt for/against something After graduating she opted for a career in music.
- After a lot of thought, I opted against buying a motorbike.
- opt to do something Many workers opted to leave their jobs rather than take a pay cut.
Synonyms choose
choose
- select
- pick
- decide
- opt
- go for
These words all mean to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available.
- choose to decide which thing or person you want out of the ones that are available:
  You choose—I can’t decide.
- select [often passive] to choose somebody/something, usually carefully, from a group of people or things:
  He was selected for the team.
  a randomly selected sample of 23 schools
- pick (rather informal) to choose somebody/something from a group of people or things:
  She picked the best cake for herself.
choose, select or pick?Choose is the most general of these words and the only one that can be used without an object. When you select something, you choose it carefully, unless you actually say that it is selected randomly/at random. Pick is a more informal word and often a less careful action, used especially when the choice being made is not very important.
- decide to choose between two or more possibilities:
  We’re still trying to decide on a venue.
- opt to choose to take or not to take a particular course of action:
  After graduating she opted for a career in music.
  After a lot of thought, I opted against buying a motorbike.
- go for something (rather informal) to choose something:
  I think I’ll go for the fruit salad.
Patterns
- to choose/decide between A and/or B
- to choose/select/pick A from B
- to opt/go for somebody/something
- to choose/decide/opt to do something
- to choose/select/pick somebody/something carefully/at random
- randomly chosen/selected/picked
Word Originlate 19th cent.: from French opter, from Latin optare ‘choose, wish’.