/ kɒp; NAmE kɑːp/ noun , verb
■ noun
( informal ) a police officer :
Somebody call the cops!
children playing cops and robbers
a TV cop show
•
IDIOMS
- not much cop
—more at fair adjective
■ verb ( -pp- ) [ vn ] ( informal )
1.
to receive or suffer sth unpleasant :
He copped all the hassle after the accident.
2.
to notice sth :
Cop a load of this (= Listen to this) !
•
IDIOMS
- cop hold of sth
- cop a plea
- cop it
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- cop off (with sb)
- cop out (of sth)
••
WORD ORIGIN
early 18th cent. (as a verb): perhaps from obsolete cap arrest , from Old French caper seize, from Latin capere . The noun is from copper police officer .