cop-out

cop-out

See also: cop out and copout

English

Alternative forms

• copout

Etymology

From the verb phrase cop out.

Noun

cop-out (plural cop-outs)

1. (slang) Avoidance or inadequate performance of a task or duty; the action of copping out.

   His disappearance on the day of the audition was just a cop-out.

2. (slang) An excuse made in order to avoid performing a task or duty; a reason offered when someone cops out.

   It was a cop-out to say he couldn't sign the petition because he sprained his wrist.

3. (slang) A person who cops out.

   He's always a cop-out when there's hard work to be done.

Translations

avoidance or inadequate performance of a task or duty

Dutch: het terugkrabbelenhet laten afwetenhet zich onttrekken

Italian: furbata f

an excuse made in order to avoid performing a task or duty

Dutch: smoes (nl) Italian: pretesto (it) m, scusa (it) f

Russian: отгово́рка (ru) f (otgovórka)

a person who cops out

Dutch: iemand die afhaakt German: Drückeberger (de) m

Italian: scansafatiche (it) m, lavativo (it) m, fannullone (it) m, irresponsabile (it) m

References

• “cop-out” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “cop-out” in Microsoft's Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition (2007)
• “cop-out” in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary.
• "cop-out" in the Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus (Wordsmyth, 2002)
• "cop-out" in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (Cambridge University Press, 2007)