Cop

/kɒp/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A police officer or prison guard.
  • Grammar: cop is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: abstract, acknowledge, acquire, admit.
  • Useful contrasts: civilian, criminal, deny.
  • Usage evidence: The cop went through his pockets, but found nothing.

How to use "cop"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cop" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cop" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cop" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cop" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "cop" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "abstract" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "cop", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A police officer or prison guard. informal
  2. 2
    A spider. obsolete
  3. 3
    The ball of thread wound on to the spindle in a spinning machine.
  4. 4
    Initialism of close of play. UK, abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
  5. 5
    Alternative letter-case form of COP (“conference of the parties”). alt-of

    "Rachel Kyte, a former senior World Bank official who is now dean of the Fletcher school at Tufts University in the US, and a close observer of Cops, said the war in Ukraine and the UK’s geopolitical relations were also key reasons to go."

Show 13 more definitions
  1. 6
    Alternative letter-case form of COP (“conference of the parties”). alt-of
  2. 7
    uncomplimentary terms for a policeman wordnet
  3. 8
    The top, summit, especially of a hill. obsolete

    "Cop they vſe to call / The tops of many Hils"

  4. 9
    Initialism of conference of the parties; also CoP or Cop. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable

    "COP stands for conference of the parties under the UNFCCC, and the annual meetings have swung between fractious and soporific, interspersed with moments of high drama and the occasional triumph (the Paris agreement in 2015) and disaster (Copenhagen in 2009)."

  5. 10
    A roughly dome-shaped piece of armor, especially one covering the shoulder, the elbow, or the knee.

    "[…] the elbow cop or coudiere for the elbow; and the rerebrace or arriere-bras for the upper arm. The shoulder cop, pauldron or epauliere which covered the shoulder, and often a large part of the breast and back, was usually considered a part of the arm guard."

  6. 11
    Initialism of common operational picture. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  7. 12
    A tube or quill upon which silk is wound.
  8. 13
    Initialism of community ophthalmic physician. Ireland, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  9. 14
    A merlon.
  10. 15
    Initialism of coefficient of performance. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  11. 16
    Initialism of code of practice. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  12. 17
    Initialism of community of property. South-Africa, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
  13. 18
    Initialism of cholesterol oxidation product. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    to capture or arrest someone dated, informal, transitive
  2. 2
    take into custody wordnet
  3. 3
    To obtain, to purchase (items including but not limited to drugs), to get hold of, to take. informal, transitive

    "You see yourself as the kind of guy who wakes up early on Sunday morning and steps out to cop the Times and croissants."

  4. 4
    take by theft wordnet
  5. 5
    To (be forced to) take; to receive; to shoulder; to bear, especially blame or punishment for a particular instance of wrongdoing. transitive

    "When caught, he would often cop a vicious blow from his father."

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    To see and record a railway locomotive for the first time. slang, transitive
  2. 7
    To steal. transitive

    "Copycat tryna cop my manner / Watch your back when you can't watch mine / Copycat tryna cop my glamor / Why so sad, bunny? Can't have mine"

  3. 8
    To adopt. transitive

    "No need to cop a 'tude with me, junior."

  4. 9
    To admit, especially to a crime or wrongdoing. intransitive, slang, usually

    "I already copped to the murder. What else do you want from me?"

  5. 10
    To recruit a prostitute into the stable. slang, transitive

    "I said, 'Tell your tricks to call you here.' She laid the bearskin and freaked the joint off with her lights and other crap. Except for the fake stars it was a fair mock-up of her pad where I had copped her."

  6. 11
    To take (a look, glance, etc.). slang, transitive

    "Cop an eyeful of this!"

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Abbreviation of ConocoPhillips. abbreviation, alt-of

    "The companies said the deal will make the new Conoco (COP) the largest independent oil-and-gas company in the United States, with daily production surpassing 1.5 million barrels. (Diversified oil companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron (CVX) pump more oil.)"

Synonyms

All synonyms
abstractacknowledgeacquireadmitandannex

Example

"The cop went through his pockets, but found nothing."

Common questions

What does "cop" mean?

A police officer or prison guard.

What is a synonym for "cop"?

Common synonyms include: abstract, acknowledge, acquire, admit, and, annex.

How do you use "cop" in a sentence?

The cop went through his pockets, but found nothing.

How do you pronounce "cop"?

Pronounced /kɒp/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English *coppen, *copen, from Old English copian (“to plunder; pillage; steal”); or possibly from Middle French caper (“to capture”), from Latin capiō (“to seize, grasp”); or possibly from Dutch kapen (“to seize, hijack”), from Old Frisian kāpia (“to buy”), whence West Frisian keapje, Saterland Frisian koopje, North Frisian koopi, kuupe. Compare also Middle English copen (“to buy”), from Middle Dutch copen.

Etymology 2

Short for copper (“police officer”), itself from the verb cop (“to lay hold of”) above, in reference to arresting criminals.

Etymology 3

From Middle English coppe, from Old English *coppe, as in ātorcoppe (“spider”, literally “venom head”), from Old English copp (“top, summit, head”), from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz (“vault, round vessel, head”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve”). Cognate with Middle Dutch koppe, kobbe (“spider”). More at cobweb.

Etymology 4

From Middle English cop, coppe, from Old English cop, copp, from Proto-West Germanic *kopp, from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz (“vault, basin, round object”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew-. Cognate with Dutch kop, German Kopf.

More for "cop"

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