1. 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.
Phrases and idioms:
chop logic argue pedantically.
Etymology: ME, var. of CHAP(1) 2. n. (usu. in pl.) the jaw of an animal etc.
Etymology: 16th-c. var. (occurring earlier) of CHAP(3), of unkn. orig. 3. v.intr. (chopped, chopping)
Phrases and idioms:
chop and change vacillate; change direction frequently.
Etymology: ME, perh. rel. to chap f. OE ceapian (as CHEAP) 4. n. Brit. archaic a trade mark; a brand of goods.
Phrases and idioms:
not much chop esp. Austral. & NZ no good.
Etymology: orig. in India & China, f. Hindi chap stamp