champ

¹ American  

[champ, chomp] / tʃæmp, tʃɒmp /

verb (used with object)

• champs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• champed,
  past participle,  past
• champing
  present participle

1. to bite upon or grind, especially impatiently.

   The horses champed the oats.

2. to crush with the teeth and chew vigorously or noisily; munch.

3. to mash; crush.

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verb (used without object)

• champs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• champed,
  past participle,  past
• champing
  present participle

1. to make vigorous chewing or biting movements with the jaws and teeth.

noun

1. the act of champing.

idioms

1. champ at the bit, to betray impatience, as to begin some action.

champ ² American  

[champ] / tʃæmp /

noun

Informal.

1. a champion.

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champ ¹ British  

/ tʃæmp /

verb

1. to munch (food) noisily like a horse

2. to bite (something) nervously or impatiently; gnaw

3. informal to be impatient to start work, a journey, etc

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noun

1. the act or noise of champing

2. dialect a dish, originating in Ireland, of mashed potatoes and spring onions or leeks

champ ² British  

/ tʃæmp /

noun

1. informal short for champion

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champ More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing champ

• like a champ

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• champer
  noun
• champy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• champing
  present
• champed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• champ
  simple
• champs
  simple
• have champed
  perfect
• has champed
  perfect
• am champing
  progressive
• are champing
  progressive
• is champing
  progressive
• have been champing
  perfect progressive
• has been champing
  perfect progressive

Past

• champed
  simple
• had champed
  perfect
• was champing
  progressive
• were champing
  progressive
• had been champing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will champ
  simple
• will have champed
  perfect
• will be champing
  progressive
• will have been champing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of champ¹

1520–30; perhaps akin to chap ¹; see chop ¹

Origin of champ²

By shortening

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Explanation

A champ is someone who wins a contest or a prize. The winner of an elementary school fifty-yard dash is a champ. Champ is shorthand for champion — in other words, a winner or a victor. You might describe your favorite football team as a bunch of champs after they win the World Series. Another way to use the word champ is as a verb meaning "chomp," especially the way a horse bites nervously or eagerly at its bit. The original meaning of champ is "chew noisily," and the biting horse definition came next, in the 1600's.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

champ champs champed champing

Pogacar, the back-to-back champ, wasn’t there to defend, having broken his collarbone in late August at the Vuelta.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Could you stack 12 cups in under two seconds to become a European champ?

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

In this corner, the reigning heavyweight champ: a version of every Oscar-baiting, prestige movie you’ve ever seen.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

The childhood sports idols for my generation of cousins were Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and boxing champ Julio César Chávez, not Mexican soccer legends Hugo Sánchez and Jorge Campos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Arguably, the 1951 championship is extra important here because it was an L.A. title, while the 1999 Super Bowl champs played in St. Louis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026

Following a pregame ceremony that saw the Seahawks raise their Super Bowl banner at Lumen Field, the game quickly looked like a disaster for the defending champs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

"Excitement, fatigue - everything. But this is the best moment of the season. We are still champs, two in a row, it's amazing."

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

“When you’re the two-time defending league champs you take pride in that and you don’t want to give it away.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026

At the start of the day, there had been eight regional champs.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

The vampirelike lamprey, sneaking into the Great Lakes in the 19th century, gradually champed its way through the fish population.

From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2016

Gung-ho Lehman bankers champed at Japanese conservatism and bureaucracy, while Nomura veterans chafed at how much Lehman staff were paid.

From Reuters ● Jul. 24, 2015

We skated Wonderland numerous times over several days and all kinds of stuff went down, but Suski straight up champed out with five amazing tricks, all of which were photo-documented in an hour-nutter.

From Time Magazine Archive

At 'Sconset Where once fine horses tossed their manes And champed their oats and hay, Now daily flock the folks with brains, To dine and talk and play.

From Time Magazine Archive

I kept my eyes fixed on Lucy, as did Van Helsing, and we saw a spasm as of rage flit like a shadow over her face; the sharp teeth champed together.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

We know that many states are already champing at the bit to do that.

From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026

“We’re champing at the bit to get the data,” one FAA official in Washington said at the time, as days stretched on after the crash without a black-box readout.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

After years of contributing to championship-caliber teams, Plum is champing at the bit to lead her own squad.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2025

They are champing at the bit to memorialize him, but Fife’s motives in agreeing are not purely about the film.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2024

Through the open door that led into the barn came the sound of moving horses, of feet stirring, of teeth champing on hay, of the rattle of halter chains.

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

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