Bop Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms bop 1 American [bop] / bɒp /

noun

1. Also called bebop. early modern jazz developed in the early 1940s and characterized by often dissonant triadic and chromatic chords, fast tempos and eccentric rhythms, intricate melodic lines punctuated by pop-tune phrases, and emphasizing the inventiveness of soloists.

verb (used without object)

bopped, bopping

1. Slang. to move, go, or proceed (often followed byon down ).

   Let's bop on down to the party.

bop 2 American [bop] / bɒp /

verb (used with object)

bopped, bopping

1. to strike, as with the fist or a stick; hit.

noun

1. a blow.

bop 1 British / bɒp /

noun

1. Originally called: bebop. a form of jazz originating in the 1940s, characterized by rhythmic and harmonic complexity and instrumental virtuosity

2. informal a session of dancing to pop music

"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

verb

1. informal (intr) to dance to pop music

"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 bop 2 British / bɒp /

verb

1. (tr) to strike; hit

"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

noun

1. a blow

"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

Other Word Forms

• bopper noun

Etymology

Origin of bop1

1945–50, (be)bop

Origin of bop2

First recorded in 1935–40; variant of bob 3

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Carpenter closed, as she always does, with “Espresso,” and if you’d assumed that by now this breezy electro-pop bop would inevitably have lost some of its fizz, think again.

From Los Angeles Times

We march too, clapping, bopping, dodging those not yet caught and puddles of the sudden rain and spilled gin.

From Salon

And every now and then, I might find a little bop, a little sundress, a little something to throw on, drop the things back off and then head down into the city.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s scary, having a bot bop around the web for me, and there are real risks.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the style of game: they can score in many ways, they can bop, they’re clutch.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.