I. ˈchäp verb
( chopped ; chopped ; chopping ; chops )
Etymology: Middle English choppen, variant of chappen — more at chap (to split)
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cut into or especially through with or as if with a heavy implement (as an ax or cleaver) usually by a forceful slanting blow
chop off a length of rope
or by a series of such blows
chop down a tree
b. : to mince, dice, or cut into small pieces
chopped vegetables
— often used with up
chop the meat up
2. : to work at or labor over with a heavy cleaving or hewing implement
chop wood
specifically : to weed and thin out (young cotton) usually with a hoe
3.
a. obsolete : to thrust quickly and forcibly : stick , dart
b. : to hit or strike (as a ball in tennis, baseball, or cricket) especially with a short quick downward glancing blow — compare drive 10
4. : to cut metal from the corner posts of (an automobile) to lower the body profile
chop a top
chop a sedan
: cut metal from (part of an automobile) to reduce weight
chop a flywheel
— compare channel II 1c
5.
a. : to reduce the power, influence, or extent of — usually used with down
b. : to retard or close (an airplane throttle) with a sudden motion : diminish or shut off the flow of fuel to (an airplane engine)
intransitive verb
1. : to strike with or as if with a heavy implement (as an ax or cleaver) using a forceful slanting blow or a series of such blows
he was chopping at an old stump
2. archaic : to go, come, or make some movement suddenly or violently : swoop , pounce
the hawk chops upon its prey
: intervene or interpose : interrupt — used with in or into
chop into a conversation
3. now dialect : to break open in fissures : chap
4. : to strike something (as a ball in tennis, baseball, or cricket or an opponent in boxing) with a chopping blow
5. of a hound : to bay in chops
Synonyms: see cut
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English choppe, from choppen, v.
1.
a. : a forceful often slanting blow made with or as if with a heavy implement (as an ax or cleaver) : a cutting stroke : swipe
the prowler took a chop at the dog with his stick
b. : a sharp downward blow (as in boxing) or stroke (as in baseball and tennis)
2. archaic : a crack or cleft (especially on the lips and hands, on stone, or in the crust of dry earth
3. : a small slice or cut of meat often including a part of a rib and usually served individually — see lamb illustration
4. : a cut or indentation made by or as if by a cleaving or hewing stroke
a hoe chop
we left chops in every tenth tree to mark the trail
5. : material that has been chopped up: as
a. : ground or chopped feed usually of one or more cereal grains or by-products — often used in plural
milo chops
corn chops
b. : crushed unbolted particles of grain that are the product of an individual break in milling (as in the milling of flour)
c. chops plural : slices of apple that are usually of inferior grade (as culls) and are dried by evaporation
6.
a. : a short abrupt motion (as of waves) : choppiness
b. : a stretch of choppy sea ; especially : one caused by a current or tide opposed in direction to the wind or to another current
7. : the sharp clipped bay of a hound
8. : cherry I 7
III. verb
( chopped ; chopped ; chopping ; chops )
Etymology: Middle English choppen, variant of chappen — more at chap (to barter)
transitive verb
1. dialect England : trade , swap
chop horses
2. obsolete : to bandy back and forth : exchange
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to make an exchange : barter
2. obsolete : to bandy words : answer back
3.
a. : to change direction
the wind chopped round to the north
b. : veer or change with or as if with the wind
the next day he chopped about and accepted the plan he had previously rejected
•
- chop logic
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: variant of chap (V)
1. : jaw — not used only in the plural
his chops fell in astonishment
2. chops plural
a. : mouth
he never opens his chops unless someone speaks to him
b. : the fleshy covering of the jaws : the jowls or chaps
the fox left the henyard licking his chops
— sometimes sing. of the flews of a dog
a bulldog with a fine chop
3. chops plural : the passage into something (as the straits leading to a large body of water, the entrance to a valley, the muzzle of a cannon)
4.
a. : chap V 2
b. : either of a pair of metal jaws that grip the end of the pendulum suspension spring in a pendulum clock
5. chops plural , slang : embouchure , lip
the trumpet player had no chops after a bout with pneumonia
V. transitive verb
( chopped ; chopped ; chopping ; chops )
1. obsolete : to seize with the jaws and eat : snap
2. Britain : to come upon and kill (prey) especially without chase
the hounds chopped the fox in its covert
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Hindi chāp stamp, brand
1. in the India and China trade
a. : a seal or its impression : an official stamp
b. : a license rendered valid by a seal : permit , clearance — see grand chop
2.
a. : a mark used on goods or coins in the China trade to indicate nature or quality
b. : a particular kind, brand, or lot of goods bearing the same chop
c. : quality, class, or grade
first- chop tea
an author of the first chop
VII. transitive verb
( chopped ; chopped ; chopping ; chops )
1. in the China trade : to attest the legality of
chop passengers
chop a ship's papers
2. : to stamp (a coin) with a seal or indentation usually as evidence of legality — used especially of coins often of non-Oriental origin circulated in China
a chopped dollar
VIII. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably native word in W. Africa
slang Britain : food — used chiefly in African colonial areas
IX. noun
chiefly Britain : ax 3
it is the very top men who have got the chop — Daily Mirror