cop

¹

[ kop ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a police officer.
2. a person who seeks to regulate a specified behavior, activity, practice, etc.:

   Once we have the government dictating language usage, then we'll start getting language cops.

cop

²

[ kop ]

verb (used with object)

, Slang.

, copped, cop·ping.

1. to catch; nab.
2. to steal; filch.
3. to buy (narcotics).

verb phrase

1. Slang.
   1. to avoid one's responsibility, the fulfillment of a promise, etc.; renege; back out (often followed by on or of ):

      He never copped out on a friend in need.

      You agreed to go, and you can't cop out now.

   2. cop a plea.

cop

³

[ kop ]

noun

1. a conical mass of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a spindle.
2. British Dialect. the top or tip of something, as the crest of a hill.

COP

⁴

abbreviation for

, Thermodynamics.

1. coefficient of performance.

cop.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. copper.
2. copyright; copyrighted.

Cop.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Copernican.
2. Coptic.

cop

¹

/ kɒp /

noun

1. slang.
   usually used with a negative worth or value

   that work is not much cop

cop

²

/ kɒp /

noun

1. another name for policeman
2. an arrest (esp in the phrase a fair cop )
3. an instance of plagiarism

verb

1. to seize or catch
2. to steal
3. to buy, steal, or otherwise obtain (illegal drugs) Compare score
4. Alsocop it to suffer (a punishment)

   you'll cop a clout if you do that!

5. cop it sweet slang.
   1. to accept a penalty without complaint
   2. to have good fortune

cop

³

/ kɒp /

noun

1. a conical roll of thread wound on a spindle
2. dialect.
   the top or crest, as of a hill

COP

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Certificate of Proficiency: a pass in a university subject

Word History and Origins

Origin of cop¹

First recorded in 1855–60; shortening of copper ²

Origin of cop²

First recorded in 1695–1705; of uncertain origin; compare cap (obsolete) “to arrest,” Scots cap “to seize,” ultimately from dialectal Old French caper “to take,” from Latin capere

Origin of cop³

First recorded before 1000; Middle English cop(e), coppe “summit, peak; top (of a tower, building),” also “crown (of the head),” Old English cop(p) “tip, top, summit”; probably cognate with Dutch kop, German Kopf “head”; cup

Word History and Origins

Origin of cop¹

C19: n use of cop ¹(in the sense: to catch, hence something caught, something of value)

Origin of cop²

C18: (vb) perhaps from obsolete cap to arrest, from Old French caper to seize; sense 1, back formation from copper ²

Origin of cop³

Old English cop, copp top, summit, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old English copp cup

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. cop a plea, Slang.
   1. to plead guilty or confess in return for receiving a lighter sentence.
   2. to plead guilty to a lesser charge as a means of bargaining one's way out of standing trial for a more serious charge; plea-bargain.

Example Sentences

Smith attended both funerals as a cop and as the husband of Police Officer Moira Smith, who died on 9/11.

From The Daily Beast

Lucas said that he himself nonetheless hopes to become a cop.

From The Daily Beast

Nobody ever says they want to become a cop so they can bust people for urinating in public or drinking alcohol on their stoop.

From The Daily Beast

The NOPD fired Knight in 1973 for stealing lumber from a construction site as an off-duty cop.

From The Daily Beast

They selected an “easy mark” who turned out to be an off-duty NYC Housing Authority cop named James Carragher.

From The Daily Beast

Once he had been a young cop, determined to work his way up in the police force.

From Project Gutenberg

In his efforts to clear himself, the young cop had taken half a dozen lead slugs from underworld guns into his body.

From Project Gutenberg

It was the Hermit's vast store of scientific knowledge that brought the half-dead cop back to health.

From Project Gutenberg

The sight of a traffic cop made him dodge around a corner that threw him off his course.

From Project Gutenberg

He struck just one wild haymaker of a blow that cleared the head of the cop by nearly a foot.

From Project Gutenberg