cop
1[ kop ]
/ kɒp /
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verb (used with object), copped, cop·ping.Slang.
to catch; nab.
to steal; filch.
to buy (narcotics).
Verb Phrases
cop out, Slang.
- 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.
- cop a plea.
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We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Idioms about cop
- to plead guilty or confess in return for receiving a lighter sentence.
- 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.
cop a plea, Slang.
Origin of cop
1First 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
Other definitions for cop (2 of 6)
cop2
[ kop ]
/ kɒp /
noun Informal.
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.
Origin of cop
2First recorded in 1855–60; shortening of copper2
Other definitions for cop (3 of 6)
cop3
[ kop ]
/ kɒp /
noun
a conical mass of thread, yarn, etc., wound on a spindle.
British Dialect. the top or tip of something, as the crest of a hill.
Origin of cop
3First 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”; see cup
Other definitions for cop (4 of 6)
Other definitions for cop (5 of 6)
cop.
abbreviation
copper.
copyright; copyrighted.
Other definitions for cop (6 of 6)
Cop.
abbreviation
Copernican.
Coptic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use cop in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for cop (1 of 4)
cop1
/ (kɒp) slang /
noun
verb cops, copping or copped (tr)
Word Origin for cop
C18: (vb) perhaps from obsolete cap to arrest, from Old French caper to seize; sense 1, back formation from copper ²
British Dictionary definitions for cop (2 of 4)
cop2
/ (kɒp) /
noun
a conical roll of thread wound on a spindle
mainly dialect the top or crest, as of a hill
Word Origin for cop
Old English cop, copp top, summit, of uncertain origin; perhaps related to Old English copp cup
British Dictionary definitions for cop (3 of 4)
cop3
/ (kɒp) /
noun
British slang (usually used with a negative) worth or valuethat work is not much cop
Word Origin for cop
C19: n use of cop 1 (in the sense: to catch, hence something caught, something of value)
British Dictionary definitions for cop (4 of 4)
COP
abbreviation for (in New Zealand)
Certificate of Proficiency: a pass in a university subject
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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