lop

1 of 3

noun

ˈläp 

: material cut away from a tree

especially : parts discarded in lumbering

lop

2 of 3

verb (1)

lopped; lopping

transitive verb

1

a(1)

: to cut off branches or twigs from

(2)

: to sever from a woody plant

b(1)

archaic : to cut off the head or limbs of

(2)

: to cut from a person

2

a

: to remove superfluous parts from

b

: to eliminate as unnecessary or undesirable

—usually used with off

lop

3 of 3

verb (2)

lopped; lopping

intransitive verb

: to hang downward : droop

Synonyms of lop

Verb (1)

• shave
• cut
• cut back
• clip
• trim

Examples of lop in a Sentence

Verb (1)

the hair stylist started by lopping off several inches from her long tresses, before beginning to shape what was left

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Persistent upper-level wind shear has produced a lop-sided, asymmetric storm with most of the rainfall in the southern quadrant of the storm. — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Stale Solbakken’s Norway, at their first World Cup since 1998, like to attack lop-sided. — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 1 July 2026

Verb

Researchers have since modified other proteins to interact with Cas9 but catalyze more subtle changes to DNA, such as lopping off a single base or making chemical modifications that alter how it base-pairs. — ArsTechnica, 24 July 2026

That tree still stands with its major branches and half its trunk lopped off. — Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English loppe

Verb (2)

perhaps imitative

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

1519, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb (2)

1578, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing lop

• lop-eared

Rhymes for lop

• bop
• chop
• cop
• crop
• drop
• flop
• fop
• hop
• knop
• mop
• op
• plop

Kids Definition

lop

verb

ˈläp

lopped; lopping

1

: to cut branches or twigs from a tree

2

: to remove unnecessary or undesirable parts from something

—usually used with off

lopper noun