Definition(s):

“…choose not to participate” (Opt, 2004).
Used in the 2003 New York Times Magazine article “The Opt-Out Revolution” in reference to “educated professional women” who have “scaled down or redefined their roles in the crucial career-building years (25-44)” (Belkin). The women profiled and discussed in this article left prestigious, high-paying jobs, temporarily or permanently, to care for their children at home full time.
Related: Opt-Out Provision An employer benefit plan provision that offers cash, extra benefits or additional credits in return for an employee reducing the level of benefits he or she selects under a flexible benefit/cafeteria-style program or providing extra cash compensation to those employees who choose not to elect any benefit coverage.” (Society for Human Resource Management)

opt v.intr." The Oxford American dictionary of current English. (1999). [Online]. Oxford University Press. Oxford Reference Online. BLC Boston College Libraries. Retrieved June 8, 2005, from http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?entry=t21.e21451&srn=1&ssid=495037370#FIRSTHIT. Belkin, L. (2003, October 26). The opt-out revolution. The New York Times Magazine, p. 42. Society for Human Resource Management. (n.d.). Glossary. Retrieved August 16, 2005, from http://www.shrm.org/TemplatesTools/Glossaries/HRTerms/Pages/o.aspx