opt

UK/ɒpt/US/ɑpt/

verbC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,343 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: opted, opting, opts

To opt is to choose one thing rather than another. A decision made between clear alternatives.

It takes for when you pick something and to when a verb follows: opt for the cheaper model, opt to walk. Two phrasal forms do a great deal of work in modern life, since opting in means actively agreeing to take part and opting out means removing yourself. Those two shape everything from pension schemes to data privacy. The noun is option, and the adjective optional means you may take it or leave it.

Definitions of opt

1verboptTo choose one thing in preference to another.C1
“Most of them opted for the earlier train.”

Phrases it lives in

opt out — choose not to take part in something

Where it comes from

Latin
optō — to choose; to select
French
opter
English, today
opt

1853; French opter, from Latin optō (“to choose; to select”). a doublet of optate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 14 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

opt in the wild

A list of those who have opted out is called a Robinson list.
Opt-out
However, occasionally member states negotiate certain opt-outs from legislation or treaties of the European Union, meaning they do not have to participate in certain policy areas.
Opt-outs in the European Union
Currently, three states have such opt-outs: Denmark (two opt-outs), Ireland (two opt-outs) and Poland (one opt-out).
Opt-outs in the European Union

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the optō family

option

opt — used about once every 8,568 pages · #11,343 · point at the bar for the others

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opt