chopper

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noun chop·per \ˈchä-pər\

Definition of chopper

1 : one that chops
2 choppers plural, slang : teeth
3 : a device that interrupts an electric current or a beam of radiation (such as light) at short regular intervals
4 : machine gun
5 : helicopter
6 : a high-bouncing batted baseball
7 : a customized motorcycle; specifically : one that has the front wheel forward of the handlebars

See chopper defined for English-language learners

See chopper defined for kids

Examples of chopper in a Sentence

The sound of choppers filled the sky.
army choppers evacuated refugees from the war zone

Recent Examples of chopper from the Web

More than a dozen choppers and air tankers are making constant water and retardant drops, but Cal Fire has requested even more help to try and get ahead of the fire.

— mireya villarreal, CBS News, "State of emergency declared as wildfire threatens homes near Yosemite," 19 July 2017
Cut to 1975 and the ignominious sight of evacuees being lifted by chopper from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon: a lasting image of American humiliation.

— david kamp, HWD, "Why The Vietnam War Is Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s Most Ambitious Project Yet," 18 July 2017
Lifting off from San Pedro or Long Beach, the choppers can get to Avalon in just 15 minutes.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Best of LA: 92 of Our Favorite Things to Eat, Do, and Buy Right Now," 14 July 2017
A chopper collision in 2015 claimed 10 lives in Argentina during filming of an unscripted action adventure show.

— libby hill, latimes.com, "'The Walking Dead' stuntman Jon Bernecker dead after on-set accident," 14 July 2017
Bike rentals: cruisers, tandems, choppers, quad sports, deuce coupes, four-wheel surrey bikes.

— The Courier-Journal, "50+ fun things for week of July 6-12," 5 July 2017
Wow, next batter hits a chopper off Lester's leg that goes into the outfield for a two-run double.

— the si staff, SI.com, "Come chat with the SI MLB staff on the Fourth of July!," 4 July 2017
For the upper abs, try crunch variations, wood choppers, and medicine ball slams.

— k. aleisha fetters, SELF, "Why It’s So Hard to Work Your Lower Abs," 4 July 2017
Strahm sustained a torn patellar tendon on Saturday while leaping for a chopper from the bat of Minnesota’s Miguel Sano, Royals manager Ned Yost said.

— rustin dodd, kansascity.com, "Royals’ Matt Strahm has a torn knee tendon, will seek a second opinion," 2 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chopper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of chopper

1552

chopper

verb chop·per

Definition of chopper

: helicopter

Recent Examples of chopper from the Web

For $700 to $900 per person, Queensland’s Pterodactyl Helicopters will chopper you and a companion to three pubs and two breweries in this vast — 2½ times the size of Texas — state.

— peter rowe, sandiegouniontribune.com, "CityBeat and 10 Barrel's relationship status: It's complicated," 27 Apr. 2017