1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

bop 1 of 2

noun

Definition of bopnext
as in blow
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument a bop to the printer sometimes fixes it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

bop

2 of 2

verb

ˈbäp How to pronounce bop (audio)
as in to hit
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner she playfully bopped him on the head

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bop
Noun
The rest of the contest unfolded in its usual technicolor parade of heavy metal, dance bops and power ballads. — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 16 May 2026 The recent yacht rock renaissance has elevated the profile of both the song and of singer-songwriter Christopher Cross, restoring its status as a certifiable bop after years spent wandering in the desert of unintentional camp. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 6 May 2026
Verb
With four nights at sea starting at $176, get ready for a value-forward trip of sunbathing across the Bahamas and Ocean Cay, Florida, or the Caribbean, bopping around Europe's cultural sites, or dog sledding in Alaska. — Jessica Chapel, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026 Carlile is having a total blast smiling and bopping through it, and bandmates Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby’s harmonies are divine. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bop
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bop
  1. blow
  2. hit
  3. thump
  4. smack
  5. slap
  6. knock
  7. swipe
  8. bang
Noun
  • That blow came a little less than a year after the New York Times shook up its culture desk and reassigned its classical music critic, Zachary Woolfe, to serve as the obituaries editor.
    — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The blow caused a minor skull fracture and a gash that required three stitches to close.
    — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • The first curveball of the night came when word hit that Young was closing out the night, as opposed to Willie Nelson.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Following a bohemian couple from Istanbul who hit a wall both creatively and personally, this slow-burn drama takes a little too much time to get the ball rolling but evolves into an honest portrait of artists finding their way out of the darkness.
    — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of hit
Noun
  • The brutalist thump of drummer Moe Tucker renders the showmen in Led Zeppelin and the Who irrelevant.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The Giants lineup even lacked Rafael Devers’ considerable thump for the first time since the Giants traded for him last summer.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of thump
Verb
  • Contreras smacked Young’s sinker 403 feet to left to lead off the fourth for his 18th homer.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • In a fight with yet more mercenaries, Reacher smacks a gun out of a guy’s hand using one of Philadelphia’s moving subway trains.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of smack
Noun
  • The baby Fins were back to Earth, sweet mirage yielding to the slap of reality.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Hundreds of those grants were later reinstated when a federal judge ruled that the slap-dash nature of the terminations violated the Administrative Procedures Act, which regulates how agencies are supposed to change policies.
    — Anil Oza, STAT, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of slap
Verb
  • Fishing ace Bucky Dent knocked 2025 champ Bear #32 (Chunk) out of contention.
    — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Keith’s knocking drums and cinematic production took the next generation of Memphis to the world as a sonic architect of hip-hop in the late 2010s and into the first half of the 2020s.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of knock
Noun
  • The display glasses didn’t always respond to thumb swipes and sometimes lagged after voice commands.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • So nothing changed yesterday just from the swipe of a magic pen, despite what politicians might say on Instagram and TV.
    — Kyle Cheromcha, The Drive, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of swipe
Verb
  • Officers were responding to a house sitter who discovered the damage while checking on loud banging in the home’s rear, police said.
    — Dennis Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Both banged off the Tropicana Field catwalk in foul territory, nullifying the catch made on both of them.
    — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of bang

Browse Nearby Words

boozy
bop
bop (into)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bop.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bop. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on bop

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bop

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All