lop off

verb

"lop-off" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lop off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

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-off · lop off · English

lop off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "L" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for lop off
PropertyValue
Headwordlop off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “lop off” in English

lop offranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

lop off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for lop off in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: See lop. The correct English form is lop off, spelled L-O-P- -O-F-F.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. TPE's Manchester Airport-Newcastle has both ends lopped off to become Manchester Victoria-York.

Etymology

See lop.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lop off"?
"lop off" is spelled L-O-P- -O-F-F.
What does "lop off" mean?
As a verb, "lop off" 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 is the origin of the word "lop off"?
See lop. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list