Nop or nope?
nop is a noun meaning “A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing”; nope is a particle meaning “No”. Use nop as a noun and nope as a particle (nope is also a noun: “A negative reply, no”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) nope is about 78 times as common as nop.
What is the difference between nop and nope?
| nop | nope | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb, interjection | particle, noun, verb |
| Meaning | A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing To replace machine code with nop instructions when modifying software | informalNo informalA negative reply, no A blow to the head |
| Example | none recorded | I'll take that as a nope, then |
| Forms | nops | nopes, noping, noped |
| Pronunciation | /nɒp/ /nɔp/ | /nəʊp/ /noʊp/ [noʊp̚] |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words | 18 times per million words |
Sources: nop and nope in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of nop and nope
nop
- 1
A no-op; a CPU instruction that does nothing
- 2
To replace machine code with nop instructions when modifying software
- 3
Alternative letter-case form of nop
- 4
Alternative letter-case form of nop
nope
- 1
informalNo
- 2
informalA negative reply, no
I'll take that as a nope, then
- 3
A blow to the head
- 4
slangAn intensely undesirable thing, such as a circumstance or an animal, eliciting immediate repulsion without possibility of further consideration
This cemetery with a haunted playground is a casket full of nope
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, nop or nope?
nop appears about once in every 4 million words; nope 18 times per million words.
nop about once in every 4 million wordsnope 18 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).