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
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Players hopped golf cart rides to class, on the rare occasion that the class wasn’t online.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Aug. 2026 And three times a week, Dobnak would hop in his Toyota Camry to drive others around.—Kansas City Star,
13 Aug. 2026
Noun
Hotel hop during the day to see your favorite artists’ sets at the pool, and maybe even some surprise ones.—
Lisa Kocay,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2026 Furthering the business-meets-academia partnership, Cosecha de Galicia—a subsidiary of brewing group Hijos de Riviera that is focused on hop cultivation—will provide access to raw materials.—
Sarah Jones,
Footwear News,
10 Aug. 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