chop
chop Lexical Profile
chop Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To cut food, wood, or another material into smaller pieces with repeated, sharp, downward strokes of a knife or axe.
"Please chop the onions and carrots finely before adding them to the soup pot."
To reduce, abolish, or cut back something sharply, such as budgets, prices, or planned content.
"The committee voted to chop the department's travel budget by thirty percent this quarter."
To strike a ball with a short, sharp, downward stroke so as to impart backspin (in tennis, table tennis, or cricket).
"She decided to chop the return just over the net to catch her opponent off guard."
• noun
A thick slice of meat, especially pork or lamb, cut from the rib and usually including a section of bone.
"The chef seasoned the pork chop with rosemary and garlic before placing it on the grill."
A quick, downward cutting blow or strike delivered with a sharp tool, a weapon, or the edge of the hand.
"With one swift chop of the axe, the woodcutter split the dry log in half."
Proven technical skill, competence, or artistic ability in a particular field, especially music (usually used in the plural).
"The young guitarist demonstrated impressive jazz chops during her audition at the conservatory."
Short, irregular, and broken wave motion on the surface of a body of water.
"The small sailboat struggled to maintain speed against the heavy afternoon chop in the bay."
• Rhymes for chop
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in late Middle English as 'choppen', probably a variant of 'chappen' (to crack or split), which is of Low German or Dutch origin and ultimately imitative of the sound of a sharp blow. The sense referring to an official seal or trademark derives separately from Hindi 'chapa' (stamp or print).