chop

To cut something into pieces with quick downward movements of a knife or similar tool.

• Chop the onion first.
• He chopped wood for the fire.
• Have you chopped the vegetables yet?

How to use it: chop something into something (Chop the carrots into small pieces.); chop something up (She chopped up the onions.)

Similar words: cut up

Common phrases: chop an onion, chop something up, chop wood

To remove something with a sharp downward blow from an axe or similar tool.

• Chop off the dead branch.
• He chopped the chicken’s head off.
• The axe chopped through the thick root.

How to use it: chop something off (He chopped the dead branch off.); chop something off something (She chopped a branch off the tree.)

Similar words: cut off, sever

Common phrases: chop something off, chop off something

To make an amount, cost, or period of time much smaller.

• We need to chop costs.
• The sale chopped prices in half.
• They chopped two hours off the journey.

How to use it: chop something in half (The new system chopped waiting times in half.); chop something by something (They chopped costs by twenty percent.)

Similar words: cut, reduce, slash

Opposites: increase

Common phrases: chop costs, chop something in half, chop the budget

To divide something into separate parts or take a part away.

• They chopped the work into sections.
• We chopped that passage off the final chapter.
• The editor chopped the interview into three parts.

How to use it: chop something into something (They chopped the project into smaller tasks.); chop something off something (We chopped a section off the report.)

Similar words: divide, split

Opposites: combine

Common phrases: chop something into pieces, chop something off, chop something up

A piece of meat, usually with a bone, cut from a pig or sheep.

• I cooked a pork chop.
• These lamb chops taste delicious.
• Would you like your chop with potatoes?

Common phrases: pork chop, lamb chop, grilled chop

A quick downward movement with a knife, axe, or hand to cut or hit something.

• One chop split the log.
• He delivered a sharp chop with the axe.
• She broke the board with a karate chop.

Similar words: blow, stroke

Common phrases: a sharp chop, karate chop, chop with something

Skill at playing music or doing another activity, usually expressed with the plural form.

• That guitarist has impressive chops.
• She showed her acting chops in the final scene.
• He developed his jazz chops through years of practice.

Similar words: skill, ability, technique

Common phrases: musical chops, have chops, show your chops

The loss of a job because an employer decides you must leave.

• He got the chop last Friday.
• The company gave three managers the chop.
• More workers could face the chop next month.

How to use it: get the chop (She got the chop when the factory closed.); give someone the chop (The new boss gave him the chop.)

Similar words: dismissal, the sack

Common phrases: get the chop, give someone the chop, face the chop