chop
pronunciation
How to pronounce chop in British English:
UK [tʃɒp]
How to pronounce chop in American English:
US [tʃɑːp]
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- Noun:
- a small cut of meat including part of a rib
- a tennis return made with a downward motion that puts backspin on the ball
- a grounder that bounces high in the air
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- Verb:
- cut into pieces
- move suddenly
- strike sharply, as in some sports
- cut with a hacking tool
- hit sharply
Word Origin
- chop
- chop: There are three distinct words chop in English. The oldest [14] originally meant ‘trade, barter’, but it is now found only in the phrase chop and change. It appears to come from Old English cēapian ‘trade’, which is related to English cheap. Chop ‘jaw, jowl’ [15] (now usually in the plural form chops) is of unknown origin; the now archaic chap is a variant. Chop ‘cut’ [16] seems ultimately to be the same word as chap (as in ‘chapped lips’), and may be related to Middle Low German kappen ‘chop off’. The specific noun sense ‘meat cutlet’ dates from the 15th century.=> chap, cheap
- chop (v.1)
- "to cut with a quick blow," mid-14c., of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old North French choper (Old French coper "to cut, cut off," 12c., Modern French couper), from Vulgar Latin *cuppare "to behead," from a root meaning "head," but influenced in Old French by couper "to strike." Related: Chopped; chopping.
- chop (v.2)
- "shift quickly," 1530s, earlier "to bargain" (early 15c.), ultimately from Old English ceapian "to bargain" (see cheap); here with a sense of "changing back and forth," probably from common expressions such as to chop and change "barter." To chop logic is recorded from 1570s. Related: Chopped; chopping.
- chop (n.)
- "act of chopping," mid-14c., from chop (v.1). Meaning "piece cut off" is mid-15c.; specifically "slice of meat" from mid-17c. Sense of "a blow, strike" is from 1550s.
Example
- 1. It has set up a mechanism to pay brazil not to chop down the amazon .
- 2. So might an early and radical chop in weapons numbers be announced by the two presidents next month ?
- 3. Once you have the vampire pinned , take an ax and chop off its head .
- 4. Rather than chop and change ministerial posts with disruptive frequency , mr cameron has yet to hold a sweeping reshuffle .
- 5. Do you really think someone would toil in the field or chop wood for hours on end dressed in a heavy coat and shiny shoes ?