cop1
/kɒp
/informal
noun
1A police officer: a cop in a patrol car gave chase...
- As of this morning, the area around the Japanese embassy is still heavily policed by regular cops and Armed Police with riot gear.
- Sam had almost killed the cops for not having patrol cars all around.
- It reminds me of how on a certain Illinois highway, the cops would park a patrol car in a visible area on the side of the road.
2 (also cop-on) [mass noun] Irish Shrewdness; practical intelligence: he had the cop-on to stay clear of Hugh Thornley...
- For a professional footballer, any footballer for that matter, to admit that he waited over three years to pay an opponent back for standing over him and sneering, to me, shows a lack of basic cop-on.
- Basic cop-on tells us that if our teachers are paid less than our second hand car salesmen, we will ultimately be left with stupid kids driving fast cars.
- The time has come for a large dose of cop-on to be delivered.
verb (cops, copping, copped) [with object]
1Catch or arrest (an offender): he was copped for speeding...
- If they get caught and copped, if they get nicked and weighed-off, fair enough.
1.1Incur (something unwelcome): England’s captain copped most of the blame...
- Convict captain Ricky Ponting copped one through the visor of his helmet that laid his cheek open.
- His leader Don Bash copped a broadside from one respondent who described him as ‘a wimp.’
- The English media thinks they're team's copping a raw deal from the Australian media this week.
1.2 (cop it) British Get into trouble: will you cop it from your dad if you get back late?...
- Lately he has been copping it for calling on Europe to reduce it's health standard for food products (can you believe it) in order to make it easier for developing countries to get into the market.
- Some of the boys thought they were copping it in the press and some had difficulty with that.
- Ray Graham copped it a lot worse than the rest of us.
1.3 (cop it) British Be killed: he almost copped it in a horrific accident...
- You drink yourself stupid, doing whatever self - abuse it is you want to do, because you don't really believe you're going to cop it.
- Does this mean Mary Jane is going to cop it in the first movie?
- However, the gang is double crossed, one of their number cops it, the gold is stolen by said double-crosser, and generally it all goes belly up for Croker and the gang.
2Receive or attain (something welcome): she copped an award for her role in the film...
- He copped several A-level awards, including best all round student.
- New Park's players copped the other awards.
- He copped the award for the Most Outstanding Academic Performance, while Jeremiah Bishop received the Principal's Spirit Award.
2.1US Obtain (an illegal drug): he copped some hash for me...
- I really wanted to get high because I was very really stressed out, and something about having the Feds sit outside my apartment kept me from copping any drugs.
- After copping, they may then not be able to obtain new syringes because local pharmacies and needle exchange services may be closed or far away.
- Social Security checks, welfare checks, and food stamp pickups (food stamp trading for drugs and other items) change street activities and copping frequency.
3North American Strike (an attitude or pose): I copped an attitude—I acted real tough...
- They get paid millions to cop an attitude and are allowed to fail to deliver the goods on the field, court, or what have you.
- Don't like it when someone else cops the attitude you usually reserve for yourself?
- ‘It's pretty easy,’ April says, copping an easy-going attitude and ruining any hopes of juicy controversy.
Phrases
cop a feel
cop hold of
cop it sweet
cop a plea
good cop, bad cop
it's a fair cop
not much cop
Phrasal verbs
cop off
cop on
cop out
cop to
Origin
Early 18th century (as a verb): perhaps from obsolete cap 'arrest', from Old French caper 'seize', from Latin capere. The noun is from copper2.
copper from Old English:
The verb cop (early 18th century), meaning ‘to catch’, comes from a northern English dialect word cap meaning ‘to capture or arrest’. This probably goes back to Latin capere, ‘to take or seize’. So a copper was a catcher, which is why it became an informal word for a police officer in the 1840s. Apprehended villains have been saying ‘ it's a fair cop!’ since the 1880s. See also capableCopper, the reddish-brown metal, comes from Latin cyprium aes ‘Cyprus metal’. The island of Cyprus was the Romans' main source of copper.
Rhymes
cop2
/kɒp/noun
A conical mass of thread wound on to a spindle.
Origin
Late 18th century: possibly from Old English cop 'summit, top'.
COP3
abbreviation
Colombian peso(s).