cop a plea

- 7 dictionary results

cop

1 [kop]

–verb (used with object), copped, cop⋅ping. Informal.

1.	to catch; nab.

2.	to steal; filch.

3.	to buy (narcotics).

—Verb phrase

cop out,

a.	to avoid one's responsibility, the fulfillment of a promise, etc.; renege; back out (often fol. by on or of): He never copped out on a friend in need. You agreed to go, and you can't cop out now.

b.	cop a plea.

—Idiom

cop a plea,

a.	to plead guilty or confess in return for receiving a lighter sentence.

b.	to plead guilty to a lesser charge as a means of bargaining one's way out of standing trial for a more serious charge; plea-bargain.

Origin:
1695–1705; cf. cap (obs.) to arrest, Scots cap to seize ≪ dial. OF caper to take, ult. < L capere

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cop² (kŏp)

tr.v. copped, cop·ping, cops

To take unlawfully or without permission; steal. See Synonyms at steal.
1. To get hold of; gain or win: a show that copped four awards; copped a ticket to the game.
2. To take or catch: "copped a quick look at the gentleman in a caramel cashmere sport coat on the right" (Gail Sheehy).

Phrasal Verb(s):
cop outTo avoid fulfilling a commitment or responsibility; renege: copped out on my friends; copped out by ducking the issue.

Idiom(s):
cop a pleaTo plead guilty to a lesser charge so as to avoid standing trial for a more serious charge.

[Probably variant of cap, to catch, from Old French caper, from Latin capere; see capture.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary

cop

tv.
to take or steal something. (Originally underworld.) : Somebody copped the statue from the town square.
n.
a theft. (Underworld.) : They pulled the cop in broad daylight.
n.
a police officer. (From sense 1.) : The cop wasn't in any mood to put up with any monkey business.
tv.
to arrest someone. (See also copped.) : They copped Sam with the evidence right on him.
n.
an arrest. : It was a smooth cop. No muss, no fuss.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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cop a plea

tv.
to plead guilty to a lesser charge. : Rocko copped a plea and got off with a week in the slammer.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

cop (n.)

"policeman," 1859, abbreviation of earlier copper (1846), from the verb.

Financial Dictionary

COP

See certificate of participation.

Idioms & Phrases

cop a plea

Plead guilty or confess to a crime in exchange for a lighter sentence; also, plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for not being tried for a more serious charge. For example, Arnold decided he was better off copping a plea than facing a jury. [Colloquial; 1920s]
Plead for mercy; make excuses. For example, He copped a plea about not knowing his way around. [Slang; c. 1940]

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