hop

¹ American  

[hop] / hɒp /

verb (used without object)

hopped, hopping

1. to make a short, bouncing leap; move by leaping with all feet off the ground.

   Synonyms:

   bound, spring, jump

2. to spring or leap on one foot.

3. Informal. to make a short, quick trip, especially in an airplane.

   He hopped up to Boston for the day.

4. Informal. to travel or move frequently from one place or situation to another (usually used in combination).

   to island-hop;

   to job-hop.

5. Older Use: Informal. to dance.

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verb (used with object)

hopped, hopping

1. to jump over; clear with a hop.

   The sheep hopped the fence.

2. Informal. to board or get onto a vehicle.

   to hop a plane.

3. Informal. to cross in an airplane.

   We hopped the Atlantic in five hours.

noun

1. an act of hopping; short leap.

2. a leap on one foot.

3. a journey, especially a short trip by air.

4. Older Use: Informal. a dance or dancing party.

5. a bounce or rebound of a moving object, as a ball.

   She caught the ball on the first hop.

idioms

1. hop to it, to begin to move, become active, or do something immediately: Also hop to.

   You'd better hop to it if you intend to buy groceries before the market closes.

hop ² American  

[hop] / hɒp /

noun

1. any twining plant of the genus Humulus, bearing male flowers in loose clusters and female flowers in conelike forms.

2. hops, the dried ripe cones of the female flowers of this plant, used in brewing, medicine, etc.

3. Older Slang. a narcotic drug, especially opium.

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verb (used with object)

hopped, hopping

1. to treat or flavor with hops.

verb phrase

1. hop up

   1. to excite; make enthusiastic.

      They hopped the crowd up with fiery speeches.

   2. to add to the power of.

      The kids hopped up the motor of their jalopy.

   3. to stimulate by narcotics.

hop ¹ British  

/ hɒp /

verb

1. (intr) to make a jump forwards or upwards, esp on one foot

2. (intr) (esp of frogs, birds, rabbits, etc) to move forwards in short jumps

3. (tr) to jump over

   he hopped the hedge

4. informal (intr) to move or proceed quickly (in, on, out of, etc)

   hop on a bus

5. informal (tr) to cross (an ocean) in an aircraft

   they hopped the Atlantic in seven hours

6. informal (tr) to travel by means of (an aircraft, bus, etc)

   he hopped a train to Chicago

7. to bounce or cause to bounce

   he hopped the flat stone over the lake's surface

8. informal (intr) to begin intense activity, esp work

9. (intr) another word for limp 1

10. slang to go away

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noun

1. the act or an instance of hopping

2. old-fashioned a dance, esp one at which popular music is played

   we're all going to the school hop tonight

3. informal a trip, esp in an aircraft

4. a bounce, as of a ball

5. informal

   1. active or busy

   2. unawares or unprepared

      the new ruling caught me on the hop

hop ² British  

/ hɒp /

noun

1. any climbing plant of the N temperate genus Humulus, esp H. lupulus, which has green conelike female flowers and clusters of small male flowers: family Cannabiaceae (or Cannabidaceae ) See also hops

2. a field of hops

3. obsolete opium or any other narcotic drug

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hop More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hop

• mad as a hornet (hops)

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Other Word Forms

• hoppingly
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of hop¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English verb hoppen, Old English hoppian; cognate with German hopfen, Old Norse hoppa

Origin of hop²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English hoppe, from Middle Dutch hoppe ( Dutch hop ); cognate with Old High German hopfo ( German Hopfen )

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Explanation

To hop is to bounce or jump, either on one foot or both feet. Bunnies hop. People hop. And, sometimes, people do a dance called the "Bunny Hop." No joke. If you lose a shoe in a rainstorm, you might hop along on one foot until you find it again. You can also hop into and out of things, or up to or down from a height: "Hop in the car, let's go!" Something that's "a hop, skip, and a jump" from where you are is extremely close, a short trip. The Old English root of hop is hoppian, "to spring, leap, or dance."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hop hopped hopping

Instead, it could hop from device to device across networks of cheap, poorly secured consumer hardware such as smart TV boxes and kitchen appliances.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

"Are they happening together or not? At which molecular site? And how is the water network facilitating the proton hop?"

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

Several people rushed over to have their photos taken with the grime and hip hop artist, who has so far had five UK number one singles, including Bonkers, Dance Wiv Me and Holiday.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

“As much as everyone wants to hop in the ocean because it’s just so gross out,” Lund said, “don’t go for a swim, especially if you’re not a strong swimmer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Kennedy willed himself to hop youthfully down the stairs toward the car.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Polo raked across the peninsula and hopped the Gulf of California, then weakened to a tropical storm as it churned northeast into the Mexican mainland.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Instead of leaving on either that jet or “former” Air Force One, the president secretly hopped into an airport catering truck and shuttled to an Air Force C-32A, a smaller military plane.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Kitten Seer hopped onto my chest, stretching her little black fluffy limbs while I scratched her chin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

In that regard, the 2026 World Cup has been a head-shaking failure—especially to the fans in star-spangled jerseys who hopped on the bandwagon only to be violently thrown off a few days later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Churro hopped around her, as if sensing her nervousness.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

They then went island hopping eastwards across the Indonesian archipelago before doubling back to Lombok for a second stay.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Australia will reduce migration by curbing "visa hopping", tightening rules on students and working holiday makers as well as cracking down on overstayers, its interior minister said Thursday, as the far-right surges in the polls.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

The country is adding around 80,000 new jobs a month, an improvement from last year, but workers are still wary of job hopping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Eagle-eyed fans then connected the dots to a resurfaced video from several months ago, which showed a fluffy white dog hopping out of one of Swift’s cars.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

I hollered, hopping up from the bed in my bare feet and ready to go call on this suspicious barber.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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