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

• bopper
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of bop¹

1945–50, (be)bop

Origin of bop²

First recorded in 1935–40; variant of bob ³

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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

See Examples For:

bop bopped bopping

The company says its "companion-centric" device can interpret human gestures and bop to musical rhythms, as well as take selfies and steady videos.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

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

Children giggle and run as kilikis with soft foam truncheons bop them if they get too close.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025

“Not selling today. Figured I’d just come out and bop around a little bit. See what bait is getting the bite, you know?” he replied.

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

In a sparkly gold dress, the 20-year-old floated above the pressure, bopped along to the music of Donna Summer and glided her way to stardom—and the top of the podium.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

Szabolcs Csépe, from Budapest, bopped to over 3000 songs and burned more than 22,000 calories in his quest to romp into the record books.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025

For years, Justine Lupe bopped back and forth between Los Angeles and New York.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2024

As the singer bopped around city to city on her own tour and eventually Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, she would tailor each outro to a new city.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2024

I bopped downstairs and thought, At least this time I’m dressed.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

Behold the swaggy celebrity fans like Timothée Chalamet, the $10,000 nosebleed seats, the President of the United States bopping north to catch Monday’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Iran is no bastion of free expression, in other words, which anyone bopping to those raps about enacting revenge on “the Baal-worshipping Epstein crew” must remember.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026

These bubbly creatures seemed to float by on the positive energy of the crowd, sometimes blithely bopping along, sometimes stopping to take photos with enthusiastic fellow inflatable-wearers.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2025

It’s the uniform of Echevarria’s youth on the East Coast, bopping between the suburbs and Manhattan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2024

“Sometimes I wake up with one of these stupid balloons bopping me in the face, and be ready to crap myself in here,” she said, snorting a little from her own joke.

From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds

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