CHOP

v. & n. --v.tr. (chopped, chopping) 1 (usu. foll. by off, down, etc.) cut or fell by a blow, usu. with an axe. 2 (often foll. by up) cut (esp. meat or vegetables) into small pieces. 3 strike (esp. a ball) with a short heavy edgewise blow. 4 Brit. colloq. dispense with; shorten or curtail. --n. 1 a cutting blow, esp. with an axe. 2 a thick slice of meat (esp. pork or lamb) usu. including a rib. 3 a short heavy edgewise stroke or blow in tennis, cricket, boxing, etc. 4 the broken motion of water, usu. owing to the action of the wind against the tide. 5 (prec. by the) Brit. sl. a dismissal from employment. b the action of killing or being killed. øchop logic argue pedantically. [ME, var. of CHAP(1)]