chop shop

noun

: a place where stolen automobiles are stripped of salable parts

Examples of chop shop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After arresting and questioning the chop shop owner, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said, investigators followed the trail of Baumgardner and Vera Moran. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024 What started with a chop shop bust in Doral took investigators to an Allapattah building with a 70-year-old auto tag agency and a clerk accused of running a $3 million car title fraud. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024 During the 1980s and 1990s, a number of perfectly beautiful Daytona berlinettas were butchered by Sawzall-wielding chop shops to create close replicas of the original spiders. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 12 Feb. 2024 Seth finds success there but also realizes that his firm is a chop shop that essentially scams investors. Lillian Brown, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2023 See all Example Sentences for chop shop 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chop shop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1977, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chop shop was in 1977

Dictionary Entries Near chop shop

Cite this Entry

“Chop shop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chop%20shop. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

chop shop

noun
: a place where stolen automobiles are stripped for salable parts

Legal Definition

chop-shop

noun
ˈchäp-ˌshäp
: a place where stolen automobiles are stripped of salable parts

More from Merriam-Webster on chop shop

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!