hop

Formshops, hopping, hopped

Pluralhops

1. 1
   small jumpsverbintransitive

   To make a short jump, or to move along by a series of short jumps.

   The kangaroo hopped toward the water hole on its powerful back legs.

   Sparrows hop along the sidewalk, pecking at crumbs.

   UsageCommon patterns include hop along the path and hop from one branch to another.

   Similarjump, leap

   Note

   Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Land That Time Forgot (1918) has a creature that hopped "much after the fashion of a kangaroo," pushing off with its hind feet and tail. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote The Land That Time Forgot. en.wikipedia.org
   • The Land That Time Forgot was first published in 1918. gutenberg.net.au
   • The story describes a creature hopping with the quoted comparison and propelling itself with its hind feet and tail. gutenberg.net.au
2. 2
   quick moveverbcolloquialintransitive

   To go or move somewhere quickly or abruptly.

   He hopped on his laptop to check the scores before the meeting.

   Let me hop into the shower before we head out.

   UsageUsually with a little word for direction: hop in, hop on the computer, hop into the shower, hop over to the store.

   Similarjump, pop

3. 3
   catch a rideverbtransitive

   To suddenly take a train, plane, or other ride that someone else drives, often secretly.

   As a teenager, he hopped freight trains across the Midwest without paying.

   If the meeting ends early, I'll hop the next flight home.

   UsageNo preposition here: hop a train, hop a flight, unlike hop on a bus.

   Similarcatch, jump, board

   Note

   Context decides whether anything secret is going on: hopping a ride in an empty trailer is stowing away, while hopping a plane after bad news is simply catching the first flight.

4. 4
   bitter flowernouncountable

   A climbing plant, Humulus lupulus, or its dried cone-shaped flowers (hops), which are used in brewing to give beer its bitterness and aroma.

   The brewer adds hops late in the boil to give the ale a floral aroma.

   The pale ale has a sharp hop bitterness that lingers after each sip.

   UsageThe flowers are hops. Before another noun, hop is common: hop aroma, hop bitterness.

5. 5
   place to placeverbintransitivein compounds

   To move often from one place or situation to another of the same kind.

   We island-hopped across Greece on a string of slow ferries.

   Rather than settle in one city, they hop from apartment to apartment every few months.

   UsageMostly in hyphenated words: bar-hopping, island-hopping; on its own, hop from one place to another.

   Similarmove, bounce, flit

6. 6
   jump oververbtransitive

   To get over something, or up onto it, by jumping.

   The driver swerved, and the car hopped the curb before stopping on a lawn.

   Some riders hop the turnstiles when the ticket machines are broken.

   UsageNo preposition needed: hop the fence, hop the curb; hop over the fence also works.

   Similarjump, vault, clear

7. 7
   little leapnouncountable

   A short jump, especially one made on one foot or, by an animal, with both feet together.

   The robin made a little hop toward the crumbs, then stopped to look around.

   The toad reached the edge of the patio in a few hops.

   Similarjump, skip

8. 8
   jump on one footverbintransitive

   To jump on one foot, keeping the other off the ground.

   With a sprained ankle, she had to hop to the car on her good foot.

   The coach had the players hopping on one leg to test their balance.

   UsageUsually hop on one foot or on one leg.

9. 9
   short tripnouncountable

   A short journey, especially a short flight on a private plane.

   The executives took the company jet for the quick hop to Palm Springs.

   Most riders on the early train are commuters making short hops between nearby towns.

   UsageOften a short hop or a quick hop, from one place to another.

   Similartrip, flight, jaunt

10. 10
    network stepnouncountable

    The passing of a data packet from one network node, such as a router, to a neighboring node, as one step in its journey across a network.

    The trace showed that each packet needed fourteen hops to reach the server in Tokyo.

    Every extra hop adds a little delay, so the engineers rerouted traffic through a closer data center.

    Note

    Network engineers count distance in hops rather than miles: each handoff between neighboring machines, usually at a router, is one hop, and the total is the hop count. A trace of a route lists them in order, and because many protocols cap the hops a packet may take, one caught in a loop is eventually dropped instead of circling forever. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

    • Hop count measures network distance by counting hops along a path. datatracker.ietf.org
    • A hop passes a packet to an adjacent host or router. rfc-editor.org
    • Traceroute identifies successive hops in route order. rfc-editor.org
    • Packet hop limits prevent packets from circulating indefinitely in routing loops. rfc-editor.org
11. 11
    add to beerverbtransitive

    To treat or flavor with hops, especially by adding them to beer as it is being brewed.

    Brewers hop the ale late in the boil to keep its citrus aroma.

    The monks hopped their beer lightly so that it would not taste bitter.

    Note

    Brewers hop for keeping as well as for taste: John Mortimer's The Whole Art of Husbandry (1707) already hops beer "for long keeping." Timing shapes the flavor, with hops boiled longest giving bitterness, and late additions, including dry hopping after the boil, giving aroma.

12. 12
    be busyverbintransitive

    Of a place, to buzz with energetic, bustling activity.

    The holiday rush kept the whole warehouse hopping until midnight.

    Downtown really starts to hop once the ballgame lets out.

    UsageUsually in the -ing form: the restaurant was hopping, the rush kept it hopping.

    Similarbuzz, bustle, jump

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