WordGarden.iochop
B2Pronunciation
UK
- /tʃˈɒp/
US
- /ˈtʃɑp/
Meanings
Verb
to cut food into small pieces
to cut something with repeated sharp blows
to reduce or remove something sharply
Noun
a small cut of meat, especially from pork or lamb
a short sharp downward blow
practical skill or ability, especially in music or performance
Beyond the definition
To chop something means to cut it into pieces with quick, forceful movements—usually with a knife, cleaver, or axe. You might chop vegetables for a stir-fry or chop wood for a fireplace. It's often more vigorous than simply cutting; think of the sound and energy involved! A skilled chef can chop an onion so fast it's almost a blur. Sometimes chop is used figuratively, such as when someone says they need to chop their expenses, meaning they intend to reduce them drastically.
The word chop evokes images of swift, decisive cutting actions. At its core, to chop means to divide something into smaller pieces using repeated blows with a sharp instrument, typically a knife, cleaver, or axe. Think about the satisfying thwack as you chop carrots for soup, or the rhythmic swing of an axe splitting logs.
While cut is a broader term, chop implies a more forceful and often less precise approach. You might carefully cut a delicate piece of fabric, but you'd chop through tough branches with an axe. It's about speed and power over finesse.
Chop isn't limited to physical objects either. We use it figuratively to describe reducing something drastically. If the company decides to chop its marketing budget, they significantly reduce it. You might even say you need to chop time off your run, meaning you want to shave seconds or minutes from your personal best.
In some contexts—especially when talking about East Asian business and paperwork—a "chop" is an official stamp or seal used to validate documents. And if you're ever near the sea, you might experience a "choppy" ocean, where waves are short and irregular, constantly rising and falling as if the surface is being struck by an invisible blade.
So, whether it's preparing food, tackling wood, reducing expenses, or describing rough seas, chop is all about forceful division and reduction, bringing something down to size with swift, repeated action.
Examples
- 1
Cooking prep
She chopped the onions for the soup.
- 2
Recipe instruction
Chop up the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
- 3
Firewood
We spent the afternoon chopping wood for the stove.
- 4
Tree removal
They had to chop down the dead tree in the yard.
- Phrasechop down
cut a tree so it falls
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Haircut
She chopped off most of her hair before the trip.
- Phrasechop off
remove by cutting
- 6
Editing
I chopped the report down to two pages.
- Patternchop something down to + length
make it much shorter
- 7
Layoffs
The company is chopping 200 jobs this year.
- Phrasechop jobs
reduce the number of jobs
- 8
Meat dish
I ordered a pork chop with mashed potatoes.
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- chopnounverb
Forms
- choppedpast tenseverbnoun
- chopspluralnounverb
- chopping-ing formverbnoun