bop

/bɑp/

/bɒp/

Other forms: bopped; bopping; bops

If you bop your little brother, you hit him lightly. If you do this, he's probably going to bop you right back.

The origin of the word bop is imitative: bop sounds like the noise your hand makes when you bop someone or something. You can also use bop to mean bebop, the fast-tempo jazz that became popular in the 1940s, after the swing era. The word comes from the jazz tradition of singing nonsense words like bebop and rebop.

Definitions of bop

1. verb

   hit hard
   synonyms: bash, bonk, sock, whap, whop

   type of:

   hit

   deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument
2. noun

   an early form of modern jazz (originating around 1940)
   synonyms: bebop

   type of:

   jazz

   a genre of popular music that originated in New Orleans around 1900 and developed through increasingly complex styles
3. verb

   dance the bebop
   synonyms: bebop

   type of:

   dance, trip the light fantastic, trip the light fantastic toe

   move in a pattern; usually to musical accompaniment; do or perform a dance