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
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Verb
Caminero short-hopped the ball with his backhand and fired a strong throw to first.—
Rob Maaddi,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Oct. 2026 Even Kardashian’s sister, Kendall Jenner, hopped on the trend, wearing strappy Jimmy Choo black suede sandals over the summer while attending a SoHo pop-up for a Korean skin care brand.—
Erin Wisti,
Footwear News,
12 Oct. 2026
Noun
Across the dozen tracks, Sivan leans heavily on ’90s touchstones, traipsing from glitch-hop to drum and bass, casting a wide net across sounds and scope.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2026 Hip-hop fans who’ve followed Migos’ journey will never forget what you guys have done in music and your influence on other artists around the world.—
Mikey Fresh,
VIBE.com,
9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hop
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