karate-chop
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of karate-chop
First recorded in 1965–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This is, of course, ludicrous, as Miss Piggy would simply karate-chop the therapist.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2020
Hendricks and Pekkanen have a real knack for plot-spinning, and “The Wife Between Us” unfolds in breathlessly ominous chapters, occasionally pausing for a narrative karate-chop.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2019
I am grateful for its audacity and the way it makes me desperately want to karate-chop a glazed ham.
From The New Yorker ● Nov. 28, 2018
At one point, Mr. Atkins asked if he could karate-chop the ice off Mr. Brickhouse’s orange snow cone.
From New York Times ● Aug. 3, 2014
"I had a conservative--Gramm--in the race I had to take out first," she says, making the same karate-chop gestures as her brother.
From Time Magazine Archive
For years they’ve toggled back and forth between moments of high romance and high drama—squabbling, hurting each other’s feelings, karate chopping/being karate-chopped.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2020
I’ll admit that as I rode the large dollhouse through the rain in my cargo bicycle, I worried it would gather cobwebs in a corner, or worse, be karate-chopped to pieces.
From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2018
Ms. Schlapp karate-chopped the table for emphasis, and the cutlery jingled.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2018
I put the phone back on the nightstand and karate-chopped my pillow to make it comfy.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
The incomparable star is a vision in studded white or powder-blue jumpsuits—cavorting, emoting, karate-chopping and spreading the bat wings of his sewn-on cape in a move that never fails to thrill the audience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026
To illustrate this, Ford has interpreted the idea of “battle” literally: the mannequins, in all their gorgeous chiffons and fringed and fan-pleated frippery are fencing and flying through the air karate-chopping each other.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2022
But it has been slow to explore Daniel’s own blind spots beyond a moment of clueless “sushi-splaining” and his bewilderment that his karate-chopping commercials might be seen as cultural appropriation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2021
Or revisit the lopsided rockabilly of Butch Willis — especially the sound of his “throat guitarist,” Al Breon, karate-chopping himself in the neck.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 23, 2017
When I look down, my stomach starts doing its karate-chopping, and I glare at Mama, who’s still bundled up under the covers on her side of the bed.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
