lop

noun \ ˈläp \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Definition of lop

: material cut away from a tree; especially : parts discarded in lumbering

Recent Examples of lop from the Web

Lopez was batting only because Counsell needed more innings out of him in a lop-sided game to save the rest of the bullpen.

— tom haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brewers' ragged start at home only gets worse with lop-sided loss to lowly Cincinnati," 16 Apr. 2018
Ohio State will peak, and see the team that handed the Buckeyes their most lop-sided loss of the season.

— bill landis, cleveland.com, "Ohio State basketball could face Gonzaga in second round: Buckeyes NCAA Tournament path," 9 Nov. 2017
Penny, a 2 1/2-year-old French lop, loved every minute of it and happily relaxed while receiving her makeover.

— sacbee, "SPCA pet of the week: Penny | The Sacramento Bee," 5 Jan. 2018
Chase is a male lop-eared rabbit in need of a home.

— Washington Post, "Prince William County adopt a pet," 30 Aug. 2017
Poundstone, who reveals her personal life as a working single mother of three children as well as the cats, a dog, a bearded dragon lizard, a lop-eared bunny and one ant, sold out her 2013 performance at the Guthrie Theater.

— mary ann grossmann, Twin Cities, "Comedian Paula Poundstone brings search for happiness to the Fitz," 10 June 2017
Alex is especially fond of Marshmallow, 2-year-old Holland lop-eared rabbit.

— joe habina, charlotteobserver, "Rescue Ranch augments mission with an all-inclusive playground for kids," 21 May 2017
Prices: Grilled beef with lop leaf ($6), spring rolls ($6), egg rolls ($6), salt and pepper tofu ($14), vermicelli ($11) and papaya salad ($10) totaled $53, before tax and tip.

— rebekah denn, The Seattle Times, "Review: Popular Green Leaf restaurant comes to the North End," 27 Apr. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of lop

Middle English loppe

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

lop

verb

Definition of lop

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

Recent Examples of lop from the Web

And measuring whether the neutron is or isn't close to the platform lops off half of the original wave.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Quantum measurements could power a tiny, hyper-efficient engine," 10 July 2018
Make Up For Ever: Beginning in-store July 1 and hitting online July 2, the brand is lopping 15 percent off of purchases of $75 or more, and 20 percent off $100 or more.

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "The Best 4th of July 2018 Beauty Sales Worth Shopping," 3 July 2018
Spitty loped down the ramp lazily and splashed in after it.

— christopher solomon, Outside Online, "This Whippet Is One of the World's Great Athletes," 18 June 2018
The two top statewide races on the ballot this year — for governor and US Senate — continue to be lop-sided in favor of the incumbents, the poll found.

— BostonGlobe.com, "See the full results of the Suffolk poll," 14 June 2018
The same could be said for the privacy and advertising scandals that have lopped billions off the market cap of Facebook and other social media companies.

— New York Times, "What’s the Biggest Challenge for Colleges and Universities?," 5 June 2018
One of the locals, loping along in the heat, was a small, brownish animal, with pointy ears and long legs made for running.

— marta zaraska, Scientific American, "How Global Warming Is Shrinking Earth's Animals," 21 May 2018
Bob and Deborah Marks watched as contractors lopped branches off an enormous oak that had fallen on their home.

— matthew ormseth, courant.com, "Connecticut Sifts Through Wreckage From Two Tornadoes, Macroburst," 17 May 2018
Mears began lopping off a second per lap, 1.5 seconds on a couple of laps, as Johncock’s handling left him again.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "Here are the six best Indy 500s ever — by generation | Miami Herald," 25 May 2018

First Known Use of lop

1519

in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

lop

verb

Definition of lop

lopped; lopping

intransitive verb

: to hang downward : droop

Recent Examples of lop from the Web

That move lopped millions from U.S. trade, predominantly from neighboring Wisconsin and New York, and tripled Canadian exports of the milk classification, according to the National Milk Producers Federation.

— geoffrey mohan, latimes.com, "Behind Trump's dairy rant, a cheesed-off Wisconsin and Canada's sacred cows," 12 June 2018
And measuring whether the neutron is or isn't close to the platform lops off half of the original wave.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Quantum measurements could power a tiny, hyper-efficient engine," 10 July 2018
Splitting your mortgage bill into twice-a-month automatic payments also lops several years off.

— Sunset, "How to Make Sense of 3 Common Types of Home Loans," 22 Jan. 2018
Make Up For Ever: Beginning in-store July 1 and hitting online July 2, the brand is lopping 15 percent off of purchases of $75 or more, and 20 percent off $100 or more.

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "The Best 4th of July 2018 Beauty Sales Worth Shopping," 3 July 2018
Then and now, the coupe can be conservative or flamboyant; widen its stance, streamline its body, lop off two doors and the E400 is back to clearing the dance floor.

— casey williams, chicagotribune.com, "2018 Mercedes-Benz E400 takes the lead in luxury coupes," 19 Dec. 2017
Spitty loped down the ramp lazily and splashed in after it.

— christopher solomon, Outside Online, "This Whippet Is One of the World's Great Athletes," 18 June 2018
Gwyneth Paltrow, lopping off her long, muted lengths in favor of a directional platinum pixie in Sliding Doors, is reason enough to break out the bleach and submit to the shears.

— lauren valenti, Vogue, "14 Iconic Movie Makeovers That Make the Case for a Bold New Look," 15 June 2018
The same could be said for the privacy and advertising scandals that have lopped billions off the market cap of Facebook and other social media companies.

— New York Times, "What’s the Biggest Challenge for Colleges and Universities?," 5 June 2018