lop
lop Lexical Profile
lop Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To cut off a branch, limb, or projecting part from a tree or body with a swift, decisive stroke.
"The arborist had to lop the dead limbs off the old oak tree before the winter storms arrived."
To eliminate or reduce a portion of something, such as expenses, time, or a list, in a sweeping or abrupt manner.
"The new highway bypass will lop twenty minutes off our daily morning commute."
To hang downward loosely or droop (especially of an animal's ears).
"The hound's long ears lop over its cheeks whenever it lowers its nose to track a scent."
• noun
Any of several breeds of domestic rabbit (family Leporidae) characterized by long, wide ears that droop loosely down the sides of the head rather than standing erect.
"The children gently fed fresh clover to the Holland lop at the county agricultural fair."
Branches and twigs trimmed or cut from a tree or bush.
"The forestry crew gathered the lop into neat piles to be processed into woodchips."
• Rhymes for lop
Word Origin & Etymology
Dating back to Late Old English in place names and attested as a verb in the 14th century, the cutting sense likely derives from an unrecorded Old English word meaning 'branch' or 'twig.' The drooping sense emerged in the 16th century as a variant of 'lap,' referring to something hanging loosely.