From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishopt out phrasal verb1 AVOIDto avoid doing a duty of You can’t just opt out of all responsibility for the child!2 TAKE PART/BE INVOLVEDto decide not to be part of a group or system of Britain wants to opt out of the new European regulations.3 PEPGif a school or hospital in Britain opts out, it decides to control the money that it is given by the government, instead of being controlled by local government → opt→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
opt out• Employees who do not wish to be part of the company's healthcare program can opt out if they want to.• The treaty gave Britain the right to opt out of the single European currency system.opt of• The sixties had been a very difficult decade to opt out of.• David felt sick and opted out of going to his Uncle's house for dinner that night• None of us can opt out of it.• The cracks in the moral edifice are visibly growing: people are beginning to opt out of its orthodoxies.• Miller opted out of military service for religious reasons.• Income transfers, in contrast, allow individuals to effectively opt out of the capitalistic process.• The lines gave their employees the choice of opting out of the trip.opt of• The sixties had been a very difficult decade to opt out of.• None of us can opt out of it.• The cracks in the moral edifice are visibly growing: people are beginning to opt out of its orthodoxies.• Income transfers, in contrast, allow individuals to effectively opt out of the capitalistic process.• The lines gave their employees the choice of opting out of the trip. opt-outˈopt-out noun [countable] British English 1 when a person or group chooses not to join a system or accept an agreement an opt-out clauseopt-out on/from the government’s opt-out on the euro2 when a school or hospital in Britain chooses to control its own money, instead of being controlled by local government an opt-out schoolExamples from the Corpus
opt-out• He will be aware that all five candidates in that by-election were opposed to the Foresterhill opt-out.• Mr Major bragged about his opt-out from the social chapter, saying that it would attract foreign investment from Britain's neighbours.• Delegates voted to oppose the mass opt-out plans and scrap controversial tests for seven and eleven-year-olds.• Our country's interests can not be served by isolation or opt-out.• Therefore, to excise it would not imply any reversal of Britain's opt-out.• That is what the uncertainty created by the Prime Minister's opt-out will cost us.• Opponents to the opt-out now have a chance to lodge objections to the Education Secretary.• It would imply that Labour was ill-advised in ever tabling the amendment, and in believing it to undermine the opt-out.opt-out on/from• Mr Major bragged about his opt-out from the social chapter, saying that it would attract foreign investment from Britain's neighbours.From Longman Business Dictionaryopt out phrasal verb [intransitive] to choose not to do something or not to remain in a particular arrangementCompanies that are already in the scheme may opt out. ofA key question for employees opting out of a medical plan is how well they would be covered in the case of an accident. → see also opt-out → opt→ See Verb tableopt-outˈopt-out noun [singular] when a country or organization decides not to join a group or systemBritain’s opt-out from the European agreementThe company secured anopt-out clause in the proposed law. 