pop
1to make a short, quick, explosive sound: The cork popped.
to burst open with such a sound, as chestnuts or corn in roasting.
to come or go quickly, suddenly, or unexpectedly: She popped into the kitchen to check the stove.
to protrude from the sockets: The news made her eyes pop.
Baseball.
to hit a pop fly (often followed by up).
to pop out.
Informal. to be bright or prominent, especially as against something less distinctive: I love how the colors pop against the neutral walls.
to shoot with a firearm: to pop at a mark.
to cause to make a sudden, explosive sound.
to cause to burst open with such a sound.
to open suddenly or violently: to pop the hood on a car; to pop the tab on a beer can.
to put or thrust quickly, suddenly, or unexpectedly: He popped the muffins into the oven.
Informal. to cause to fire; discharge: He popped his rifle at the bird.
to shoot (usually followed by at, off, etc.): He popped off bottles with a slingshot.
British Slang. to pawn.
Informal.
to take or swallow (pills), especially in excess or habitually; take orally in a compulsive or addictive way: Popping all those pills will land him in the hospital.
to eat in a continual or thoughtless manner, as snack foods: popping peanuts at the movies.
a short, quick, explosive sound.
a popping.
with an explosive sound: The balloon went pop.
quickly, suddenly, or unexpectedly: Pop, the door flew open!
Informal. unexpected; without prior warning or announcement: The teacher gave us a pop quiz.
pop for, Informal. to pay or buy for oneself or another, especially as a gift or treat; spring for: I'll pop for the first round of drinks.
pop in. See entry at pop-in.
pop off, Informal.
to die, especially suddenly.
to depart, especially abruptly.
to express oneself volubly or excitedly and sometimes irately or indiscreetly: He popped off about the injustice of the verdict.
pop out, Baseball. to be put out by hitting a pop fly caught on the fly by a player on the opposing team.
pop up, Baseball. to hit a pop fly.
Idioms about pop
a pop, Slang. each; apiece: five orchids at $30 a pop.
pop the question, Informal. to propose marriage: They dated for two years before he popped the question.
Origin of pop
1regional variation note For pop
Other words for pop
Other definitions for pop (2 of 8)
reflecting or aimed at the tastes of the general masses of people: pop culture; pop novels.
popular music: It's the first time she's sung pop.
pop art.
Origin of pop
2Other definitions for pop (3 of 8)
Origin of pop
3Other definitions for pop (4 of 8)
a frozen ice or ice-cream confection on a stick: Two lemon pops, please.
Origin of pop
4Other definitions for POP (5 of 8)
Computers. Post Office Protocol.
Other definitions for pop. (6 of 8)
popular.
popularly.
population.
Other definitions for p.o.p. (7 of 8)
point-of-purchase.
Other definitions for P.O.P. (8 of 8)
point-of-purchase.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pop in a sentence
This is pop music as meditation, as solace, as an expression of faith.
BTS’s new album is sublime comfort pop for the soul in lockdown | Aja Romano | November 20, 2020 | VoxAbout 100 million Americans now have the ability to get pop-up notifications from local health authorities when they’ve personally spent time near someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
A covid-fighting tool is buried in your phone. Turn it on. | Geoffrey Fowler | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostIt might reasonably be seen as a flourishy blip, campy ephemera or an uncommonly excellent case in pop’s mimicry of the mood of an exceptionally twisty epoch.
Almost anarchy: The Style Council and the smooth sounds of sophisti-pop | Mina Tavakoli | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostStateside, however, sophisti-pop proper lives mostly now within banal retail atmospheres — department stores, groceries and pharmacies — like a charming Muzak meant to drain and temper a mood to stasis.
Almost anarchy: The Style Council and the smooth sounds of sophisti-pop | Mina Tavakoli | November 20, 2020 | Washington PostColugos popped unexpectedly into Miard’s life three years ago.
On a cool night in Malaysia, scientists track mysterious colugos across the treetops | Yao-Hua Law | November 20, 2020 | Science News
So I was looking back at the years, and that really popped out at me, those three years.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire | William O’Connor | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAll sorts of government policies blew that bubble up until it popped.
Eric Garner was bent over, wrestled down, spread out, and squeezed until he popped.
Next door, a strip mall popped and hissed as unknown accelerants aided in its fiery destruction.
The stream of bubbly from the popped champagne bottle creates an angelic arc over her, and lands right in the glass.
Kim Kardashian Bares Her Shiny, Bounteous Butt, Breaks the Internet | Marlow Stern | November 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd saying a hasty good afternoon, he popped through his doorway and vanished at Billy Woodchuck's feet.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole | Arthur Scott BaileyHe gazed at us all in wonderment, and, overcome by mingled shame and exhaustion, I sank into a chair and popped no more.
When out of a door popped the bespectacled Miss Carrington, grimmer and more stern than usual.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage | Gertrude W. MorrisonUp he popped his head again in a moment, and jerked his short tail, and barked.
He popped a pair of loose felt slippers into his hat, calmly lighted his pipe and proceeded to Old Street.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) | Charles James Wills
British Dictionary definitions for pop (1 of 5)
/ (pɒp) /
to make or cause to make a light sharp explosive sound
to burst open or cause to burst open with such a sound
(intr; often foll by in, out, etc) informal to come (to) or go (from) rapidly or suddenly; to pay a brief or unexpected visit (to)
(intr) (esp of the eyes) to protrude: her eyes popped with amazement
to shoot or fire at (a target) with a firearm
(tr) to place or put with a sudden movement: she popped some tablets into her mouth
(tr) informal to pawn: he popped his watch yesterday
(tr) slang to take (a drug) in pill form or as an injection: pill popping
pop one's clogs See clog 1 (def. 9)
pop the question informal to propose marriage
a light sharp explosive sound; crack
informal a flavoured nonalcoholic carbonated beverage
informal a try; attempt: have a pop at goal
informal an instance of criticism: Townsend has had a pop at modern bands
a pop informal each: 30 million shares at 7 dollars a pop
with a popping sound
an exclamation denoting a sharp explosive sound
Origin of pop
1British Dictionary definitions for pop (2 of 5)
/ (pɒp) /
music of general appeal, esp among young people, that originated as a distinctive genre in the 1950s. It is generally characterized by a strong rhythmic element and the use of electrical amplification
(as modifier): pop music; a pop record; a pop group
informal a piece of popular or light classical music
informal short for popular
British Dictionary definitions for pop (3 of 5)
/ (pɒp) /
an informal word for father
informal a name used in addressing an old or middle-aged man
British Dictionary definitions for POP (4 of 5)
point of presence: a device that enables access to the internet
internet post office protocol: a protocol which brings e-mail to and from a mail server
Post Office Preferred (size of envelopes, etc)
persistent organic pollutant
British Dictionary definitions for pop. (5 of 5)
popular
popularly
population
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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