cop

[ kop ]

See synonyms for cop on Thesaurus.com

nounInformal.

a police officer.
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

First recorded in 1855–60; shortening of copper²

Other definitions for cop (2 of 6)

cop²

[ kop ]

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.

Origin of cop

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

Other definitions for cop (3 of 6)

cop³

[ kop ]

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

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”; see cup

Other definitions for COP (4 of 6)

COP

abbreviationThermodynamics.

coefficient of performance.

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. 2023

How to use cop in a sentence

If anything the work the two cops and the maintenance guy were doing deserves more respect and probably helped a lot more people.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie | Arthur Chu | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
But no more so than the Sodexo building maintenance man or the two cops who were also killed in the crossfire.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie | Arthur Chu | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Many of those who have become cops in New York seem to have ceased to address such minor offenses over the past few days.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown | Michael Daly | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
He made clear that he fully appreciated what the cops had done.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown | Michael Daly | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
He was getting another lesson in what he had seemed not to appreciate fully about cops.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown | Michael Daly | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST

No cops had seen that the gray sedan which had driven into Burkey's filling station had come out a blue sedan.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
And when finally somebody turned on the lights, Jeff Weedham was on the floor, two cops astride him.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
For he knew who had triggered those three today, who the Chi torpedo the cops wanted was.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
If the cops aren't there already, it'll be a good idea to finish the case right on the spot where it started.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
There were a lot of cops up there, a lot of plain clothes men and lads from the homicide bureau.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for cop (1 of 4)

cop¹

/ (kɒp) slang /

noun

another name for policeman
British an arrest (esp in the phrase a fair cop)

an instance of plagiarism

verbcops, copping or copped (tr)

to seize or catch
to steal

to buy, steal, or otherwise obtain (illegal drugs): Compare score (def. 26)
Also: cop it to suffer (a punishment): you'll cop a clout if you do that!
cop it sweet Australian slang
- to accept a penalty without complaint
- to have good fortune

Origin of cop

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

See also cop off, cop out

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

Origin of 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 value: that work is not much cop

Origin of 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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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