From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcop out phrasal verb informalNOT DO somethingto not do something that someone thinks you should do As far as I’m concerned, she’s copped out and joined the rat race. → cop-out → cop→ See Verb tablecop-outˈcop-out noun [countable] informal NOT DO somethingsomething you do or say in order to avoid doing or accepting something Ignoring the problem is a cop-out.
Examples from the Corpus
cop-out• Putting the blame on your parents for your problems is a cop-out.• This is a cop-out, and it is false on the counts both of principle and fact.• This is, really, a cop-out, and can be an expensive one.• The creation of such multiple scenarios is not really a cop-out.• There was plenty to do on your own doorstep - to look further was a cop-out.• This kind of cop-out is also likely to undermine the parents' credibility and the trust put in them.• Is that not a political cop-out? 