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Definition of opt verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

 

opt

 verb
verb
NAmE//ɑpt//
 
[intransitive, transitive]Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they opt
 
he / she / it opts
 
past simple opted
 
-ing form opting
 
 
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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 motorcycle. opt to do something Many workers opted to leave their jobs rather than take a pay cut. Thesauruschoose
  • select
  • pick
  • decide
  • opt
  • go for something
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:I can't decide—you choose.
  • select [often passive] (formal) to choose a person or thing, usually carefully, from a group of people or things:He was selected for the team. a randomly selected sample of 23 schools
  • pick (somewhat informal) to choose a person or thing from a group of people or things:Pick a number between one and ten.
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 movie.
  • 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 motorcycle.
  • go for something (somewhat informal) to choose something:I think I'll go for the fruit salad.
Patterns
  • to choose/pick/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
Phrasal Verbsopt inopt out
See opt in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary