I. hop 1 /hɒp $ hɑːp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle hopped , present participle hopping )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hoppian ]
1 . JUMP [intransitive] to move by jumping on one foot:
a little girl hopping and skipping
2 . [intransitive] if a bird, an insect, or a small animal hops, it moves by making quick short jumps
3 . [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] informal to move somewhere quickly or suddenly:
Hop in – I’ll drive you home.
Patrick hopped out of bed and quickly got dressed.
4 . hop a plane/bus/train etc American English informal to get on a plane, bus, train etc, especially after suddenly deciding to do so:
So we hopped a bus to Phoenix that night.
5 . hop it! British English old-fashioned used to rudely tell someone to go away
6 . hopping mad informal very angry SYN furious
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THESAURUS
▪ jump verb [intransitive and transitive] to push yourself up into the air, over something etc, using your legs:
The cat jumped up onto the table.
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He jumped over the stream.
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His horse jumped the fence successfully.
▪ skip verb [intransitive] to move forwards with little jumps between your steps, especially because you are feeling happy:
The little girl was skipping down the street.
▪ hop verb [intransitive] to jump or move around on one leg:
He was hopping around because he’d injured his foot.
▪ leap verb [intransitive and transitive] especially written to suddenly jump up high or a long way:
The deer leapt over the fence.
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Tina leapt onto the boat as it was moving away.
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Fish were leaping out of the water.
▪ bounce verb [intransitive] to jump up and down several times, especially on something that has springs in it:
Children love bouncing on beds.
▪ dive verb [intransitive] to jump into water with your head and arms first:
Zoë dived into the swimming pool.
▪ vault /vɔːlt $ vɒːlt/ verb [intransitive and transitive] especially written to jump over something in one movement, using your hands or a pole to help you:
He vaulted the ticket barrier and ran for the exit.
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Ben tried to vault over the bar.
II. hop 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Sense 1-2, 4-5: Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: ⇨ ↑ hop 1 ]
[ Sense 3: Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Middle Dutch ; Origin: hoppe ]
1 . catch somebody on the hop to do something when someone is not expecting it and is not ready
2 . JUMP a short jump
3 . PLANT
a) hops [plural] parts of dried flowers used for making beer, which give the beer a bitter taste
b) the tall plant on which these flowers grow
4 . FLIGHT a single short journey by plane:
It’s just a short hop from Cleveland to Detroit.
5 . DANCE old-fashioned a social event at which people dance ⇨ HIP-HOP