# chop

Pronunciation: say "CHOP" US /t͡ʃɑp/, UK /t͡ʃɒp/

## Verb

1. To cut something into pieces using short, forceful cutting motions.
   - Simple: To cut something into small pieces using quick, hard strokes.
   - _Chop the herbs finely before adding them to the sauce._
   - _The cook chopped the parsley into a fine mince._
3. To cut through or sever something using an axe or similar implement.
   - Simple: To cut through something with an axe or other sharp tool.
   - _The woodsman chopped the log in two with a single swing._
   - _We chop the fallen trees into manageable logs._
5. To strike something with a downward blow or movement, usually using the side of the hand.
   - Simple: To hit something with a quick downward blow using the side of your hand.
   - _She chopped the board cleanly in a single karate move._
   - _Fighters chop the back of the neck to stun an opponent._
7. To make a quick, heavy stroke or a series of strokes, as if using an axe.
   - Simple: To make quick, hard cutting strokes, as if swinging an axe.
   - _The miners chopped at the rock face for hours._
   - _They chop steadily at the dense undergrowth._
10. To separate or divide something into distinct parts.
   - Simple: To split something into separate parts.
   - _The committee chopped the proposal into separate bills._
   - _Planners chop the project into smaller, manageable phases._
11. To interrupt, typically used with the particle in or out.
   - Simple: To break into a conversation, or interrupt someone.
   - _He kept chopping in before anyone could finish a sentence._
   - _Feel free to chop in if you have a question._
12. To act suddenly with an unexpected motion, especially to catch or seize at something.
   - Simple: To move suddenly in order to grab or snatch at something.
   - _The pike chopped at the lure but missed._
   - _Crocodiles chop suddenly at anything passing close._
15. To strike a ball toward the ground, making it rebound high into the air.
   - Simple: To hit a ball downward so that it bounces up high.
   - _She chopped the ball down at the plate for an infield single._
   - _Batters sometimes chop the ball deliberately to exploit slow turf._
16. In poker and other games, to split the pot or a tournament's prize money among two or more players.
   - Simple: To split the money in a card game evenly between two or more players.
   - _Tied players will chop the pot rather than award it to a single winner._
   - _The two leaders chopped the prize pool before the final hand._
18. To shorten a piece of text by deleting its final letter, digit, or other symbol.
   - Simple: To remove the last letter or symbol from a piece of text.
   - _The script will chop the trailing slash from each web address._
   - _She wrote a routine to chop the last digit from every code._
21. To shift or change suddenly, as the wind veering to a new direction.
   - Simple: To change direction or strength very suddenly.
   - _Coastal winds chop without warning as fronts move through the bay._
   - _The gale chopped to the west just as they rounded the cape._
22. To have sexual intercourse with someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have sex with someone.
   - _Rumor spread that he had chopped half the people at the party._
   - _She insisted she would never chop someone just to climb the ranks._
25. To cut up and arrange cocaine into a line ready for use. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To prepare a line of cocaine by cutting up and arranging the powder.
   - _He chopped two lines while the others talked._
   - _They watched him chop the coke with a razor blade._

## Noun

2. A cut of meat, often including a section of rib bone.
   - Simple: A thick piece of meat, usually with part of a rib bone.
   - _He seasoned the chop with salt and pepper before frying it._
   - _The butcher cut several chops from the loin._
4. A striking blow delivered with an axe, cleaver, or similar implement.
   - Simple: A hard hit made with an axe or similar tool.
   - _A single chop of the cleaver cut through the bone._
   - _The lumberjack felled the tree with a few well-aimed chops._
6. A blow struck with the hand held rigid and outstretched.
   - Simple: A hit made with the hand held flat and stiff.
   - _She delivered a sharp chop to her opponent's collarbone._
   - _A well-placed chop can disarm an attacker instantly._
8. Small, short-lived ocean waves caused by wind, smaller and briefer than swell.
   - Simple: Small, rough waves on the sea made by the wind.
   - _The ferry pitched through a steep chop outside the harbor._
   - _Sailors reefed the sails as the chop built against the tide._
9. Dismissal from a job; the act of being fired or let go. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The end of a job, or being fired by an employer.
   - _Three managers got the chop when the new owners took over._
   - _After years of poor sales, the whole department faced the chop._
13. An animal's jaw.
   - Simple: The jaw of an animal.
   - _The crocodile's massive chops snapped shut on the carcass._
   - _He gripped the dog firmly by the chops._
14. A movable jaw or gripping cheek, such as that of a vise.
   - Simple: A movable part of a tool that grips, like the jaw of a vise.
   - _The machinist adjusted the movable chop to hold the workpiece._
   - _One chop of the vise had worn smooth over the years._
17. A tied poker hand in which two or more players hold equally ranked hands, so the chips are shared equally between them.
   - Simple: A tied result in poker where two or more players hold equal hands and split the chips evenly.
   - _A three-way chop split the pot into thirds after everyone showed the same straight._
   - _When the best five-card hand comes entirely from the board, the result is a chop._
19. A mark indicating the nature, quality, or brand of goods.
   - Simple: A mark put on goods to show what kind, how good, or which brand they are.
   - _The trader's chop on the bale guaranteed a consistent grade of tea._
   - _Inspectors checked each barrel for the official chop before shipping._
20. Either of the two pieces of land that flank the mouth of a river, harbor, or channel.
   - Simple: The pieces of land on each side of the mouth of a river or harbor.
   - _Navigators marked the chops on either side before entering the narrow channel._
   - _A fort once guarded the southern chop of the harbor entrance._
23. A woodchopping contest, in which competitors race to cut through blocks of wood with axes. *(Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A contest to see who can cut through wood the fastest.
   - _She placed second in the chop at this year's show._
   - _The chop is always the loudest event at the agricultural fair._
24. In British slang, cocaine. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: A slang name for cocaine, an illegal drug.
   - _They spent the whole weekend buying chop and partying till dawn._
   - _Police found a stash of chop hidden behind the bar._
26. In slang, a knife, especially one used as a weapon. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a knife, especially one carried as a weapon.
   - _Someone flashed a chop and the crowd scattered._
   - _He was charged with carrying a chop in public._
27. Turbulence experienced by an aircraft in flight.
   - Simple: Rough, bumpy air that shakes an aircraft during a flight.
   - _The crew reported light chop at cruising altitude._
   - _Passengers gripped their seats as the plane bounced through heavy chop._
28. To fly a helicopter, or to be flown somewhere in one. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To fly a helicopter, or to travel somewhere in one.
   - _The crew chopped out to the oil rig before sunrise._
   - _Rescue teams chop into areas that roads can't reach._
29. A stamp or seal: the mark or impression made on a document by stamping or sealing with ink or wax. *(colloquial, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore)*
   - Simple: A stamp or seal mark pressed onto a document to make it official.
   - _The deed carried the family's chop in bright red ink._
   - _Banks here won't process the form without an official chop._
30. The hand tool used for stamping or sealing, carrying the design that gets imprinted. *(colloquial, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)*
   - Simple: A small tool you press onto paper to leave a stamp or seal mark.
   - _The carver made her a jade chop with her name in seal script._
   - _He inked the chop and pressed it firmly onto the page._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A split or fissure, especially a crack in the skin.
- (verb) To wound someone by thrusting a knife or other pointed object into them.
- (verb) To trade one thing for another, surviving mainly in set phrases such as "chop and change."
- (verb) Of skin or ground, to split open in small cracks, as from cold or dryness.
- (verb) To argue in an overly clever or quibbling way, bending the sense of words, as in "chop logic."
- (verb) To exchange words with someone in talk or argument.
- (noun) A shift in circumstances or luck, usually in the phrase "chops and changes."
- (noun) In the old East Asian trade, an official permit or travel document bearing an authorizing seal.
- (noun) In the old East Asian trade, an entire consignment of goods dispatched together.
- (verb) To mark a document or other material with an official stamp, usually to show it is genuine or approved.
- (noun) On an IRC chat network, a user with operator powers over a particular channel.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–12, 15–18, 22–27** — From Middle English choppen or chappen ("to chop"), of uncertain origin: possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap ("to become cracked"). It is cognate with Scots chap and related words in Dutch (kappen) and German (kappen), and is perhaps connected to chip.
**Meaning 21** — Of uncertain origin, perhaps a variant of chap ("cheap"); compare Middle English copen ("to buy") and Dutch kopen ("to buy").
**Meanings 13–14, 20** — From Middle English choppe ("jaw, jawbone"), related to Middle English cheppe ("one side of the jaw"), and perhaps ultimately related to etymology 1.
**Meanings 19, 29–30** — Borrowed from Hindi छाप (chāp, "stamp"), closely related to the Malay word cap, which likely reinforced its use within the Malay world.
**Meaning 28** — A shortening of chopper.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chop (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).