lop

/lɒp/

//lɒp// verb

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

"lop" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lop” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #41,741) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#41,741
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything, especially to prune a small limb off a shrub or tree, or sometimes to behead someone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-lop · lop · English

lop · rank #41,741 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,741
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Longfellow

Nearest frequency peer: Longfellow (-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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “lop”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “lop” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

lop vs Lt
0% similar
lop vs LP
0% similar
lop vs Ls
0% similar

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

Key facts for lop
PropertyValue
Headwordlop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/lɒp/
Letters3
Frequency rank#41,741
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “lop”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).loplands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Longfellow” (#41,740), “Livia” (#41,739), “Litecoin” (#41,738). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lop” is #41,741. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for lop is neighbouring look-alikes ("Lt", "LP", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /lɒp/. Frequency #41,741 among 2,297 “L” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for lop in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lt", "LP", "Ls", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English loppe (“bough”); the verb is a back-formation from the noun. The correct English form is lop, spelled L-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything, especially to prune a small limb off a shrub or tree, or sometimes to behead someone.
  2. 2
    To hang downward; to be pendent; to lean to one side.
  3. 3
    To allow to hang down.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Some, for hard masters, broken under arms, In battle lopt away, with half their limbs, Beg bitter bread thro’ realms their valour sav’d,
  2. to lop the head

Etymology

From Middle English loppe (“bough”); the verb is a back-formation from the noun.

Synonyms

snead

This word in other languages

podar(Español)

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 "lop"?
"lop" is spelled L-O-P. The IPA pronunciation is /lɒp/.
What does "lop" mean?
As a verb, "lop" means: To cut off as the top or extreme part of anything, especially to prune a small limb off a shrub or tree, or sometimes to behead someone.
What words are commonly confused with "lop"?
"lop" is commonly confused with "Lt", "LP", "Ls". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lop"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lop" is /lɒp/. 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 "lop"?
From Middle English loppe (“bough”); the verb is a back-formation from the noun. 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 "lop", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Kik#41,720ney#41,782igg#41,684IaC#41,681

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list