co-op

/kou'ɔp/

Thân thiện

A family shops for fresh produce at their local food co-op.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A cooperative: A business or organization that is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits. This is the most common meaning, referring to a commercial enterprise structured for mutual benefit rather than for outside investors.
   • A cooperative building or housing complex: A residential building or complex owned and managed collectively by the people who live there, who own shares in the corporation that owns the property.

Usage

• As a commercial enterprise:
  • We buy our groceries from the local food co-op.
  • The farmers formed a co-op to sell their produce directly to consumers.
• As a housing arrangement:
  • She lives in a co-op on the Upper West Side.
  • The rules of our co-op require board approval for new residents.

Advanced Usage

• "Worker co-op": A cooperative owned and self-managed by its employees.
  • The factory was converted into a worker co-op after the owners retired.
• "Consumer co-op": A cooperative owned by the customers who buy its goods or services.
  • The organic grocery store is a consumer co-op.

Variants and Related Words

• Cooperative (noun, formal): The full, formal term for a co-op.
  • The cooperative held its annual member meeting.
• Co-op (verb, informal, rare): To cooperate or work together (colloquial and less common).
  • We need to co-op on this project to succeed.

Synonyms

• Collective: A cooperative enterprise or community.
• Mutual society: An organization owned by its members for their shared benefit (common in finance).

Related Phrases

• Join a co-op: To become a member-owner of a cooperative.
  • They decided to join the co-op to get access to fresh, local food.
• Co-op board: The governing body of a housing cooperative.
  • Her application was approved by the co-op board.

Related Idioms

• "It's a co-op": Used to explain the unique ownership or management structure of a business or residence.
  • "Why do I have to be approved to buy this apartment?" "Because it's a co-op; the building is collectively owned."

Học thuật

Noun

1. a jointly owned commercial enterprise (usually organized by farmers or consumers) that produces and distributes goods and services and is run for the benefit of its owners

Từ đồng nghĩa

• cooperative