hops plural: the ripe dried female cone-like flower clusters of a north-temperate zone twining plant (Humulus lupulus) of the hemp family used especially to impart a bitter flavor to beer
2
plural hops: the perennial climbing bine from which hops are obtained that have 3- to 5-lobed leaves and inconspicuous flowers of which the pistillate ones are in scaly cone-like clusters
Verb (1)
a rabbit hopped across the frozen grass
the frog hopped back into the pond
the bus stopped, a lone passenger hopped on, and the driver continued on his way Noun (1)
back in those days taking someone to the school hop was a big deal
she made it across the rocky creek in two hops
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Bar hop between a handful of venues in Old City, including JJ Bootleggers venues, between 2-8pm.—Mike D'onofrio, Axios, 8 Aug. 2024 Dana Taylor: Joey, thanks for hopping on The Excerpt.—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2024
Noun
The property is also a hop and a skip away from some of the country’s best skiing, hiking, and 10,000-foot-high glaciers overlooking some of the tallest mountain peaks in Europe.—Annie Archer, Travel + Leisure, 7 Aug. 2024 During his track introduction for the final, Lyles triple-jumped—plus two or three more hops—about a quarter way down the track.—Sean Gregory / Saint-Denis, TIME, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hop
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb (1)
Middle English hoppen, from Old English hoppian
Noun (2)
Middle English hoppe, from Middle Dutch; akin to Old High German hopfo hop
: a twining plant (Humulus lupulus) of the hemp family with 3-lobed or 5-lobed leaves and inconspicuous flowers of which the pistillate ones are in cone-like clusters
2
hops plural: the ripe dried female cone-like flower clusters of a hop plant used especially to impart a bitter flavor to beer and also in medicine as a tonic
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