# chops

Pronunciation: say "CHOPS" US /t͡ʃɑps/, UK /t͡ʃɒps/

## Noun

1. Plural of chop. — plural of chop
   - Simple: Plural of chop. Use this when you mean more than one chop.
   - _The diner serves two thick chops with mashed potatoes._
   - _He seasoned the chops and left them to marinate overnight._
2. The mouth, lips, and jaws. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person's or animal's mouth, lips, and jaws.
   - _The cat washed its chops after finishing the bowl of cream._
   - _One more word and I'll bust you right in the chops._
3. A person's skill, ability, or competence at some activity or endeavor. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The skill and ability someone has at doing something.
   - _The new editor clearly has the chops for handling a major story._
   - _He proved his negotiating chops by closing the deal in a day._
4. A musician's skill at interpreting and performing music.
   - Simple: How good someone is at playing music.
   - _Touring for a decade gave her the chops to improvise over any chord change._
   - _The session players were hired for their studio chops._
6. Food in general; whatever there is to eat. *(slang, Australia, Nigeria)*
   - Simple: Food, or something to eat.
   - _After the long hike, everyone was ready for some chops._
   - _At the wedding the aunties made sure the chops never ran out: jollof rice, fried plantain, puff-puff and more._
7. The stretch of broken, choppy water where two opposing tides meet.
   - Simple: The rough water where two tides meet and make waves.
   - _The ferry slowed as it crossed the chops at the harbor mouth._
   - _We hit the chops just as the tide turned and the wind rose._
8. A juggling pattern in which the throwing hand carries one object over the next before releasing it.
   - Simple: A juggling move where one hand carries a ball over another before throwing it.
   - _She showed the class how chops differ from a plain cascade._
   - _Adding chops gave his act a sharper, more dramatic look._

## Verb

5. Third-person singular simple present of chop. — third-person singular simple present indicative of chop
   - Simple: The form of chop used in the present with he, she, it, or a singular noun such as the dog or water.
   - _The machine chops wood into small, even pieces._
   - _Every morning the cook chops a pile of vegetables for the soup._
9. Alternative form of chopse. *(dialectal, Midlands, Wales)* — Alternative form of chopse.
   - Simple: Alternative form of chopse. A dialect word from parts of Britain meaning to chat or talk.

## Origin

This comes from the plural of "chop" (meaning "jaw" or "side of a harbour"). The jazz slang sense of "musical ability" refers to the use of the lips to blow instruments.

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