chop
v.v. to cut something into smaller pieces using a sharp tool like a knife or an axe. You usually do this with food or wood.
v. to cut something into pieces with repeated sharp blows using an implement such as a knife, axe, or cleaver. Often used in culinary or forestry contexts.
Please chop the onions into small pieces for the soup.
The chef showed the students how to chop the herbs finely without bruising the leaves.
Before the winter storms arrived, the villagers spent weeks in the forest to chop enough firewood to last until the spring thaw.
From Middle English choppen, chappen (“to chop”), of uncertain origin, possibly onomatopoeic, or a variant of chap (“to become cracked”). Cognate with Scots chap (“to chop”). Compare also Saterland Frisian kappe, kapje (“to hack; chop; lop off”), Dutch kappen (“to chop, cut, hew”), German Low German kappen (“to cut off; clip”), German kappen (“to cut; clip”), German dialectal chapfen, kchapfen (“to chop into small pieces”), Albanian copë (“piece, chunk”), Old English *ċippian (in forċippian (“to cut off”)). Perhaps related to chip.
Uncertain, perhaps a variant of chap (“cheap”). Compare Middle English copen (“to buy”), Dutch kopen (“to buy”).
From Middle English choppe (“jaw, jawbone”), related to Middle English cheppe (“one side of the jaw, chap”). Perhaps ultimately related to Etymology 1 above.
Borrowed from Hindi छाप (chāp, “stamp”). Closely related to the similarly descended Malay word cap, which likely reinforced the English usage within the Malay world.
Shortening.
Shortening of chopper.
The verb is transitive and typically takes a direct object representing the material being cut.
chop the wood in pieceschop the wood into piecesWhen describing the result of the action, the preposition 'into' is used to show the change in state.