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• hopper
  hopper

  noun

  a person or thing that hops.
• Hopper
  Hopper

  noun

  Edward, 1882–1967, U.S. painter and etcher.

hopper

¹ American  

[hop-er] / ˈhɒp ər /

noun

hoppers plural

1. a person or thing that hops.

2. Informal. a person who travels or moves frequently from one place or situation to another (usually used in combination).

   a two-week tour designed for energetic city-hoppers.

3. any of various jumping insects, as grasshoppers or leafhoppers.

4. Australian. kangaroo.

5. a funnel-shaped chamber or bin in which loose material, as grain or coal, is stored temporarily, being filled through the top and dispensed through the bottom.

6. Railroads. hopper car.

7. U.S. Politics. a box into which a proposed legislative bill is dropped and thereby officially introduced.

8. one of the pieces at each side of a hopper casement.

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idioms

1. in the hopper, in preparation; about to be realized.

   Plans for the class reunion are in the hopper.

Hopper ² American  

[hop-er] / ˈhɒp ər /

noun

1. Edward, 1882–1967, U.S. painter and etcher.

2. Grace Murray, 1906–92, U.S. naval officer and computer scientist.

3. (William) De Wolf 1858–1935, U.S. actor.

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hopper ¹ British  

/ ˈhɒpə /

noun

1. a person or thing that hops

2. a funnel-shaped chamber or reservoir from which solid materials can be discharged under gravity into a receptacle below, esp for feeding fuel to a furnace, loading a railway truck with grain, etc

3. a machine used for picking hops

4. any of various long-legged hopping insects, esp the grasshopper, leaf hopper, and immature locust

5. Also called: hoppercar.  an open-topped railway truck for bulk transport of loose minerals, etc, unloaded through doors on the underside

6. another name for cocopan

7. computing a device formerly used for holding punched cards and feeding them to a card punch or card reader

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Hopper ² British  

/ ˈhɒpə /

noun

1. Edward. 1882–1967, US painter, noted for his realistic depiction of everyday scenes

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Hopper Scientific  

/ hŏp′ər /

1. American mathematician and computer programmer who in 1951 conceived the idea for an internal computer program, called a compiler, that scanned a set of alphanumeric instructions (such as words and symbols) and compiled a set of binary instructions executed by the machine. Her ideas were widely influential in the development of programming languages, in particular COBOL.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hoppers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hopper

Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; see origin at hop ¹, -er ¹

Explanation

A hopper is a funnel-shaped device used to move material from one receptacle to another. This type of hopper has nothing to do with hopping or jumping: it's a device — the kind you're most likely to see in a chemistry lab — for moving substances from one container to another. If you need to pour a large beaker of liquid into a tiny test tube, the hopper lets you move the liquid without spilling. Solid, grain-like substances could also be moved using a hopper. Many factories will have hoppers as part of their machinery too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hopper Hopper hoppers

“This creates a strong platform to invest with discipline into our distinctive deep hopper of oil & gas opportunities,” BP said.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 10, 2026

Bills don’t get passed merely because someone drops a draft in the hopper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025

After watching the first six episodes of its full 12, you may thank the Universe that there aren’t more rounds in the hopper.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2025

Dr Gerst gave the graduates a patch in the shape of the popular "space hopper" toy.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2024

This time, he trots alongside a gray hopper car.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Anaheim residents over the age of 10 can also purchase discounted one-day Park Hopper tickets during this time for $104.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

Per-pupil funding makes this a challenge, Hopper argues.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

According to Koontz, each new family of graphics processing units — like the leap from Nvidia’s Hopper to Blackwell chips — drives “a step-up in optical-interconnect performance and cost.”

From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026

“There is a void in my guts that can only be filled by songs,” writes Jessica Hopper, a self-described addict of lyrics and tunes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

“I’m invariably ill-tempered in the early morning. I repeat to you, the choice is open to you. Either you go to America with Mrs. Van Hopper or you come home to Manderley with me.”

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

"You can't win year after year after year after year, like the Patriots or the Yankees. They're bandwagon hoppers, they love to get on the bandwagon for a good team, and that's not soccer."

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

China has built the robotic infrastructure—sensors, hoppers and relay satellites—needed for a permanent lunar base.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026

But in August and September, job hoppers once again had more significant pay gains.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 22, 2025

During the last decade, this group exhibition has become a must-see for gallery hoppers who have flocked to view the works of such boldface art-world names as Mark Ryden, Tracey Emin and Jill Greenberg.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2024

The Iron Worm squeaks, groans, and clanks—black tankers, rust-colored boxcars, and gray hoppers winding north on a single track that parallels the Pacific coast.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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