COP OUT

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Choose not to do something, as out of fear of failing

Example:

She copped out when she was supposed to get into the hang glider

Synonyms:

cop out; opt out

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "cop out" is one way to...):

choose; opt; prefer (select as an alternative over another)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

copout (a failure to face some difficulty squarely)