Jump To:

• hopped-up
  hopped-up

  adjective

  excited; enthusiastic; exuberant, especially overexuberant.
• hopped up
  hopped up

  Relating to a motor, especially a car engine, whose power has been increased. For example, Kids loved to ride around in hopped-up cars . [ Slang ; mid-1900s] Also see soup up .

hopped-up

American  

[hopt-uhp] / ˈhɒptˈʌp /

adjective

Slang.

1. excited; enthusiastic; exuberant, especially overexuberant.

2. having an engine with added power.

   a hopped-up jalopy.

3. stimulated by narcotics; drugged; doped.

---

hopped up Idioms  

1. Relating to a motor, especially a car engine, whose power has been increased. For example, Kids loved to ride around in hopped-up cars . [ Slang ; mid-1900s] Also see soup up .

2. Stimulated with, or as if with, a narcotic. For example, Their idea of a good time is to get all hopped up on marijuana or worse . This slangy usage dates from the 1920s but may be related to the late 19th-century use of the noun hop for a narcotic, especially opium.

---

Usage

What does hopped-up mean? Hopped-up is an informal adjective that means extremely excited or enthusiastic about something, as in Dave is really hopped-up about getting the new gaming system. This sense of the word can imply a sense of overexcitement or frenzy. The terms hyped-up and hyped mean the same thing. Hopped-up is also used to describe someone who is in a state of stimulation, especially due to narcotics or other drugs. When used in this way, hopped-up is often followed by the word on and the drug or stimulating substance, as in Rock stars in the ’80s were notorious for being constantly hopped-up on cocaine. Though the word is most closely associated with hard drugs, it sometimes involves other stimulants, as in hopped-up on caffeine or After the party, the kids were hopped-up on sugar. Less commonly, hopped-up is used to describe a vehicle, especially a car, that has been modified in order to increase its power, especially its engine power (and therefore its ability to go faster). The term souped-up means the same thing and is probably more commonly used. The adjective hopped-up is sometimes seen without a hyphen. However, it’s usually best to spell it with a hyphen to avoid confusion in cases when the past tense verb hopped is followed by the word up, as in The cat hopped up on the table. The phrasal verb hop up can be used in all of the senses of the adjective hopped-up. It can mean to excite someone or to make something more exciting, as in Get out there and hop up the crowd. It can also mean to stimulate someone, such as with drugs or another stimulant, as in My mother-in-law loves to hop the kids up on sugar. In the context of cars, it can mean the same thing as soup up. Example: The kids were hopped-up all week in anticipation of their trip to the theme park.

Etymology

Origin of hopped-up

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hopped-up hopped up

The sampling of funk and glam rock classics momentarily distracts us from the nonsensical staging choices and hopped-up gags, but only for so long.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

He quickly gathered a considerable audience, reportedly around 600,000 listeners, providing a startlingly informal alternative to the hopped-up antics of Top 40 DJs and the rapid-fire flow of headlines on all-news radio.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2022

Thus, in 1930 — long before hot rodding went mainstream after World War II — a hopped-up car was a gow job.

From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2021

But this time, instead of hopped-up teenagers hurling moralistic condemnation at mediocre TV shows, it was middle-aged men condemning a 220-page financial statement on Twitter, in real time.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 20, 2019

Maybe they'd have a place in the asteroids for a hopped-up superman.

From Anything You Can Do! by Randall Garrett

Lately, brands have gotten all hopped up on sugar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025

"And then the weirdest, weirdest thing happened. She came across the bench and then she hopped up on to my lap," says Hannah.

From BBC ● May 25, 2024

The injury apparently happened pre-game Monday when Noda was taking pre-game infield and the ball hopped up and hit him.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 20, 2023

The creators, Amit Bhalla and Lucas Jansen, have conceived an alternative, future-past Earth that looks like an illustrator was hired to design a space-themed malt-shop menu in 1955 and got hopped up on bennies.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

On his shoulder Kaw hopped up and down and bobbed his head in delight.

From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander