# hop

/ˈhɑp/ (US) · /hˈɒp/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hop
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to jump

verb · CEFR A2

to make a small jump, or to jump on only one foot.

For teachers: to move by a short leap or a series of leaps; frequently used to describe jumping on a single leg.

- The children had to hop across the puddles to keep their shoes dry.
- The bird continued to hop along the garden fence, pausing occasionally to inspect the ground for insects.

### 2. to move quickly

verb · CEFR B1 · Informal

to go somewhere quickly or to get onto a vehicle like a bus or train.

For teachers: to move in a quick or sudden manner; often used transitively when boarding a vehicle.

- I'm going to hop on the bus and meet you at the cinema in ten minutes.
- After the meeting, he decided to hop a flight to Chicago to surprise his family for the weekend.

### 3. to change frequently

verb · CEFR B2

to move often from one job, place, or activity to another.

For teachers: to move frequently between similar places or situations; commonly found in compounds like 'job-hopping'.

- Many young professionals hop from one company to another to increase their salary.
- The backpackers spent the summer island-hopping across the Aegean, never staying in one port for more than two nights.

### 4. a short jump

noun · CEFR A2

a small jump, usually on one leg.

For teachers: a short, springy leap; in athletics, the first stage of the 'hop, step, and jump'.

- With a quick hop, the rabbit disappeared into the tall grass.
- The athlete's final hop was slightly off-balance, which cost him several centimetres in the total distance of the triple jump.

### 5. a short trip

noun · CEFR B1 · Informal

a short journey, especially a short flight in a plane.

For teachers: a short distance or journey, particularly an air journey between nearby destinations.

- It is just a short hop from London to Paris by plane.
- The regional airline specialises in short hops between the various islands in the archipelago.

### 6. the beer plant

noun · CEFR B2

a climbing plant whose flowers are used to give beer its bitter taste.

For teachers: the dried female flower of the Humulus lupulus plant, used as a bittering and flavouring agent in brewing.

- This craft beer has a very strong smell of fresh hops.
- The brewmaster experimented with different varieties of hops to achieve the specific citrus aroma required for the new pale ale.

Usage: Usually used in the plural form 'hops' when referring to the ingredient.

### 7. computing/data

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

one step in the journey of a piece of data from one computer to another.

For teachers: the passage of a data packet from one network node to the next.

- The connection is slow because the data has to make too many hops.
- Network latency increased significantly as the packet traversed fifteen hops before reaching the destination server.

## Examples

- The bird moved across the grass with a quick hop.
- It is just a short hop from London to Paris by train, making it perfect for a weekend trip.
- The athlete's final hop before the long jump was perfectly timed to maximize his forward momentum and ensure a clean landing in the sand pit.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.