pop

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To burst with a short, sharp sound; to make something burst this way.

   The balloon popped with a loud bang.

2. 2
   verb

   To go or put something somewhere quickly (informal).

   I'll pop the bread in the oven.

3. 3
   adv

   With a sudden short, sharp sound.

   Everything went pop and the lights went out.

Multiword verbs with pop

• pop off Phrasal verb A2

  to leave or go somewhere quickly, informally

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Pop arose in late Middle English as an imitation of a sharp sound, like bang and splash. It first referred to a blow or knock, and later to an abrupt explosive noise. The name for a fizzy drink comes from the sound of its stopper being removed, while pop in music is a 19th-century shortening of popular.

Uncertain. The OED suggests either from (lolli)pop ("because the meetings were held in the rooms of Mrs Hatton, who kept the lollipop shop"), or from Latin popīna (“cookshop”). The second sense derives from the first.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary