chop 2 (chŏp) Pronunciation Key
intr.v.
chopped, chop·ping, chops
To change direction suddenly, as a ship in the wind.
[Obsolete, to exchange, from Middle English choppen, to barter, bargain, variant of chapen, from Old English cēapian, from cēap, bargain, trade; see cheap.]
"to cut," 1362, perhaps from O.Fr. (Picard) choper, from O.Fr. coper "to cut off," from V.L. *cuppare "to decapitate," infl. by couper "to strike." Meaning "slice of meat" is c.1640; hence, chop-house (1690). Chopper, slang for "helicopter," dates from 1951, Korean War military slang. Meaning "stripped-down modified motorcycle" is from 1965.
Chop\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Chopped; p. pr. & vb. n. Chopping.] [Cf. LG. & D. kappen, Dan. kappe, Sw. kappa. Cf. Chap to crack.]1. To cut by striking repeatedly with a sharp instrument; to cut into pieces; to mince; -- often with up. 2. To sever or separate by one more blows of a sharp instrument; to divide; -- usually with off or down. Chop off your hand, and it to the king. --Shak. 3. To seize or devour greedily; -- with up. [Obs.] Upon the opening of his mouth he drops his breakfast, which the fox presently chopped up. --L'estrange.
Chop\, v. i. 1. To make a quick strike, or repeated strokes, with an ax or other sharp instrument. 2. To do something suddenly with an unexpected motion; to catch or attempt to seize. Out of greediness to get both, he chops at the shadow, and loses the substance. --L'Estrange. 3. To interrupt; -- with in or out. This fellow interrupted the sermon, even suddenly chopping in. --Latimer.
Chop\, v. t. [Cf. D. koopen to buy. See Cheapen, v. t., and cf. Chap, v. i., to buy.]1. To barter or truck. 2. To exchange; substitute one thing for another. We go on chopping and changing our friends. --L'Estrange. To chop logic, to dispute with an affected use of logical terms; to argue sophistically.
Chop\, v. i. 1. To purchase by way of truck. 2. (Naut.) To vary or shift suddenly; as, the wind chops about. 3. To wrangle; to altercate; to bandy words. Let not the counsel at the bar chop with the judge. --Bacon.
Chop\, n. 1. The act of chopping; a stroke. 2. A piece chopped off; a slice or small piece, especially of meat; as, a mutton chop. 3. A crack or cleft. See Chap.
Chop\, n. [See Chap.]1. A jaw of an animal; -- commonly in the pl. See Chops. 2. A movable jaw or cheek, as of a wooden vise. 3. The land at each side of the mouth of a river, harbor, or channel; as, East Chop or West Chop. See Chops.
Chop\, n. [Chin. & Hind. ch[=a]p stamp, brand.]1. Quality; brand; as, silk of the first chop. 2. A permit or clearance. Chop dollar, a silver dollar stamped to attest its purity. chop of tea, a number of boxes of the same make and quality of leaf. Chowchow chop. See under Chowchow. Grand chop, a ship's port clearance. --S. W. Williams.
[chop] 
