What does "hop" mean?
A short jump.
Hop
/hɑp/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A short jump.
- Grammar: hop is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hops, add hops, aeroplane, airlift.
- Useful contrasts: crawl, dwell, linger.
- Usage evidence: Yes. And it's only a hop, skip and a jump to the nearest mall.
How to use "hop"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hop" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "hop" 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 "hop" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hop" 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 "hop" 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 "hops" 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 "hop", 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 A short jump.
"The frog crossed the brook in three or four hops."
- 2 A plant of species Humulus lupulus, native to northern Europe, female flowers of which are used to flavour many types of beer during brewing.
- 3 Synonym of half-op. Internet
- 4 Ellipsis of John Hop (“a police officer”). Australia, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, slang
""Police!" snarled Jack. "Bloody Johnny Hops! They couldn't hold a sucking pig in their hands, unless somebody hung on to its tail for them. It's our boys who've got things in hand. And handed them over to the Hops.""
- 5 the act of hopping; jumping upward or forward (especially on one foot) wordnet
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 A jump on one leg.
- 7 The flowers of the hop plant, dried and used to brew beer. plural-normally
- 8 an informal dance where popular music is played wordnet
- 9 A short journey, especially in the case of air travel, one that takes place on a private plane.
"My fellow passengers are a mixture of people returning from a day out in the capital, locals doing short hops, and a few (like me) heading farther afield."
- 10 Opium, or some other narcotic drug. US, slang
"‘You've been shot full of hop and kept under it until you're as crazy as two waltzing mice.’"
- 11 twining perennials having cordate leaves and flowers arranged in conelike spikes; the dried flowers of this plant are used in brewing to add the characteristic bitter taste to beer wordnet
- 12 A brief period of development or progress. figuratively, informal
"For popular radio stars in New York and Los Angeles, it was a short hop to network television."
- 13 The fruit of the dog rose; a hip.
- 14 A bounce, especially from the ground, of a thrown or batted ball. US
- 15 A dance; a gathering for the purpose of dancing. UK, US, dated, slang
"1896, Benjamin Brierley, James Dronsfield, "Ab-o'th'-Yate" Sketches and Other Short Stories One singing-room we had closed, and so damaged a "twopenny hop" that it could not have survived another season had our own prosperity continued unchecked."
- 16 The sending of a data packet from one host to an adjacent host as part of its overall journey.
Verb
- 1 To jump a short distance. intransitive
"When it had advanced from the wood, it hopped much after the fashion of a kangaroo, using its hind feet and tail to propel it, and when it stood erect, it sat upon its tail."
- 2 To impregnate with hops, especially to add hops as a flavouring agent during the production of beer transitive
"If you brew in March or October, and have hopped it for long keeping[…]"
- 3 travel by means of an aircraft, bus, etc. wordnet
- 4 To jump on one foot. intransitive
- 5 To gather hops. intransitive
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 jump lightly wordnet
- 7 To be in state of energetic activity. intransitive
"Sorry, can't chat. Got to hop."
- 8 make a jump forward or upward wordnet
- 9 To suddenly take a mode of transportation that one does not drive oneself, often surreptitiously. transitive
"I hopped a plane over here as soon as I heard the news."
- 10 jump across wordnet
- 11 To jump onto, or over transitive
"They hop the curb and cut their engines."
- 12 traverse as if by a short airplane trip wordnet
- 13 To move frequently from one place or situation to another similar one. in-compounds, intransitive, usually
"We were party-hopping all weekend."
- 14 move quickly from one place to another wordnet
- 15 To go in a quick or sudden manner. informal, intransitive
"We hopped on the freeway heading to LA and I looked over at the dashboard and saw the needle back on “E” and I told the guy, “Hey! You going to make it with the gas you got?""
- 16 To dance. informal
- 17 To walk lame; to limp. obsolete
"The limping smith […]hopping here and there, himself a jest[…]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Dutch.
- 2 Synonym of Mari (etymology 3)
Example
"Yes. And it's only a hop, skip and a jump to the nearest mall."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hop"?
Common synonyms include: hops, add hops, aeroplane, airlift, airplane, alcohol.
How do you use "hop" in a sentence?
Yes. And it's only a hop, skip and a jump to the nearest mall.
How do you pronounce "hop"?
Pronounced /hɑp/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English hoppen, from Old English hoppian (“to hop, spring, leap, dance”), from Proto-West Germanic *huppōn, from Proto-Germanic *huppōną (“to hop”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewb- (“to bend, bow”). Cognate with Dutch hoppen (“to hop”), German hopfen, hoppen (“to hop”), Danish hoppe (“to hop, leap, jump”), Swedish hoppa (“to hop, leap, jump”), Icelandic hoppa (“to hop, skip”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English hoppe, from Middle Dutch hoppe, from Old Dutch *hoppo, from Proto-Germanic *huppô, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keup (“tuft, hair of the head”), referring to the plant's appearance. Cognate with German Hopfen and French houblon.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Dutch Hop.