as in defeat
a falling short of one's goals
more than a few people were glad to see the obnoxiously smug skater come a cropper at the national championships
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Recent Examples of cropper
Two weeks after Alt’s ankle was mangled, depriving Herbert of his blindside protector, the quarterback and the offense came a cropper in a 30-6 blowout at Jacksonville in mid-November.
—
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Trump administration says aid is a bridge to a more stable future
The Trump administration insists that the aid package will help farmers, and placed the blame on former President Joe Biden for the struggle that many croppers are fighting now.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 5 Jan. 2026
More recently, soybean croppers were angered by the financial support lent to Argentina, which went on to ship large quantities of its own soybeans to China.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Still, with the disappointing box office of the first Horizon, the lack of Horizon II on the big screen, and third and fourth installments of Horizon looking as likely as a return of the Wild West itself, however this case ends up sorted, Costner may still come a cropper.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
In January, 1813, at York Castle, fourteen croppers stood trial for rioting and machine breaking, which Parliament had deemed a capital offense in the new Frame-Breaking Act.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Jan. 2026
Trump administration says aid is a bridge to a more stable future
The Trump administration insists that the aid package will help farmers, and placed the blame on former President Joe Biden for the struggle that many croppers are fighting now.
—Laura Schulte, jsonline.com, 5 Jan. 2026
More recently, soybean croppers were angered by the financial support lent to Argentina, which went on to ship large quantities of its own soybeans to China.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Oct. 2025
Still, with the disappointing box office of the first Horizon, the lack of Horizon II on the big screen, and third and fourth installments of Horizon looking as likely as a return of the Wild West itself, however this case ends up sorted, Costner may still come a cropper.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2025
In January, 1813, at York Castle, fourteen croppers stood trial for rioting and machine breaking, which Parliament had deemed a capital offense in the new Frame-Breaking Act.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cropper
Noun
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That actually proved the prelude to an even more extraordinary attack on the board in his post-match press conference just 24 hours later, following a 2-1 defeat by Sunderland.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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The latest came in a 111-104 loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena — the Sky’s third straight defeat since the season-ending loss of Rickea Jackson to a torn ACL.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Noun
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Her son was cited for careless driving and failure to signal.—
Topher Sanders,
ProPublica,
2 June 2026
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Blue Origin should be able to identify the cause of the failure and get the rocket flying safely again.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
Noun
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Throwing Israel ‘under the bus’ Netanyahu has pushed to strike Iran’s oil facilities to accelerate the regime’s collapse, the official said.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
29 May 2026
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Then came the collapse of the Assad regime, in Syria, severing the land route long used by Hezbollah to transport rockets, antitank missiles, and precision-guidance systems from its Iranian patron.—
Euan Ward,
New Yorker,
29 May 2026
Noun
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Grossman did not try to leave the scene after the crash, Holm said.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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That crash occurred three months after Lu was ticketed in Maryland for negligent driving and changing lanes unsafely, according to court records.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cropper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cropper. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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