bop

¹ American  

[bop] / bɒp /

noun

1. Also called bebop.  early modern jazz developed in the early 1940s and characterized by often dissonant triadic and chromatic chords, fast tempos and eccentric rhythms, intricate melodic lines punctuated by pop-tune phrases, and emphasizing the inventiveness of soloists.

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verb (used without object)

bopped, bopping

1. Slang. to move, go, or proceed (often followed byon down ).

   Let's bop on down to the party.

bop ² American  

[bop] / bɒp /

verb (used with object)

bopped, bopping

1. to strike, as with the fist or a stick; hit.

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noun

1. a blow.

bop ¹ British  

/ bɒp /

noun

1. Originally called: bebop.  a form of jazz originating in the 1940s, characterized by rhythmic and harmonic complexity and instrumental virtuosity

2. informal a session of dancing to pop music

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verb

1. informal (intr) to dance to pop music

bop ² British  

/ bɒp /

verb

1. (tr) to strike; hit

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noun

1. a blow

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bopper
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bop¹

1945–50, (be)bop

Origin of bop²

First recorded in 1935–40; variant of bob ³

Explanation

If you bop your little brother, you hit him lightly. If you do this, he's probably going to bop you right back. The origin of the word bop is imitative: bop sounds like the noise your hand makes when you bop someone or something. You can also use bop to mean bebop, the fast-tempo jazz that became popular in the 1940s, after the swing era. The word comes from the jazz tradition of singing nonsense words like bebop and rebop.

Example Sentences

He adds a funky countermelody, reminiscent of Horace Silver or Lee Morgan, and remakes “Billy Joe” into a remarkable slice of hard bop, a 12-minute roller-coaster ride.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

Carpenter closed, as she always does, with “Espresso,” and if you’d assumed that by now this breezy electro-pop bop would inevitably have lost some of its fizz, think again.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025

Toss it on, let the bops bop, and maybe help deprogram your local Disney adult.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2025

It didn’t take more than a few days for Peter Cook, a marine mammal sciences professor at the New College of Florida, to train Ronan to bop her head to music.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

Even as I help cook, I bop, snap, do a little two-step, and follow along as Layla and Kayla practice their dance moves for the block party's talent show.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi