chop

/t͡ʃɒp/

//t͡ʃɒp// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"chop" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chop” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,009. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,009
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cut of meat, often containing a section of a rib.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chop · chop · English

chop · rank #10,009 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,009
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chatting

Nearest frequency peer: chatting (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “chop”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “chop” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

chop vs co
50% similar
chop vs cp
50% similar
chop vs cup
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for chop
PropertyValue
Headwordchop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃɒp/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,009
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chop”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).choplands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “chatting” (#10,008), “Charleston” (#10,007), “Clifford” (#10,011). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chop” is #10,009. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around chop (IPA /t͡ʃɒp/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,009 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 11 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for chop, with forms such as "cchop", "chhop", and "chopp". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "co", "cp", "cup", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”). Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), Dutch kapp… The correct English form is chop, spelled C-H-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cut of meat, often containing a section of a rib.
  2. 2
    A blow with an axe, cleaver, or similar implement.
  3. 3
    A blow delivered with the hand rigid and outstretched.
  4. 4
    Ocean waves, generally caused by wind, distinguished from swell by being smaller and not lasting as long.
  5. 5
    A hand where two or more players have an equal-valued hand, resulting in the chips being shared equally between them.
  6. 6
    Termination, especially from employment; the sack.
  7. 7
    A woodchopping competition.
  8. 8
    A crack or cleft; a chap.
  9. 9
    Aircraft turbulence.
  10. 10
    Cocaine.
  11. 11
    A knife, especially one used as a weapon.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how chop appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I only like lamb chops with mint jelly.
  2. Of the two fried chops served him for breakfast he ate one and gave Edmund the other, and put a buttered sandwich of bread in his pocket against the accidents of travel.

Etymology

From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”). Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), Dutch kappen (“to chop, cut, hew”), German Low German kappen (“to cut off; clip”), German kappen (“to cut; clip”), German dialectal chapfen, kchapfen (“to chop into small pieces”), Albanian copë (“piece, chunk”), Old English *ċippian (in forċippian (“to cut off”)). Perhaps related to chip.

Synonyms

axepink slipsack

This word in other languages

chuleta(Español)côtelette(Français)Kotelett(Deutsch)talhada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchop
  • chhop
  • chopp
  • chpo
  • cohp
  • hcop

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chop - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cchop1chhop1chopp1chpo2cohp2hcop2
Edit distance from "chop"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chop"?
"chop" is spelled C-H-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃɒp/.
What does "chop" mean?
As a noun, "chop" means: A cut of meat, often containing a section of a rib.
What words are commonly confused with "chop"?
"chop" is commonly confused with "co", "cp", "cup". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chop"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chop" is /t͡ʃɒp/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "chop"?
From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”). Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chop", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cody#10,013stab#9,965guts#10,055herb#10,060

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

Carrie6 variantsConnor6 variantsherd6 variantsjelly6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list