Etymology From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
You have not taken anything off "pop" yet, and "pop" is the working-class drink. For the working-classes it is "pop" and cockles, just as with the upper classes it is champagne and oysters.1923, Ben Turner, “Estate Duty”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), column 186:
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The best thing on the table was a tray full of bottles of lemon pop.1941 September 8, LIFE, page 27:
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Canada, Inland Northern American, Midwestern US, Northwestern, Pennsylvania, US, Western, Regional A bottle, can, or serving of effervescent or fizzy drink, most frequently nonalcoholic; a soda pop.
Go in the store and buy us three pops.
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A pop shot: a quick, possibly unaimed, shot with a firearm.
The man with the gun took a pop at the rabbit.
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Colloquial, In the phrase "a pop" A quantity dispensed; a portion; apiece.
They cost 50 pence a pop.
British rockers Radiohead solved the "music is dead" dispute last year by allowing fans to name a price for the group's new album, In Rainbows. (More than a million albums sold in the first week alone, at an average $8 a pop).2008 January–February, Matt Bean, “Your cultural calendar: 7 things to look forward to this year”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134:
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Something that stands out or is distinctive to the mind or senses.
a white dress with a pop of red
a pop of vanilla flavour
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Nothing screams fall like corduroy! I'm loving this deep seafoam green shacket—made of the thick, ribbed material—that'll give a fab pop of color to a muted ensemble.2023 November 4, Kim Duong, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “22 Best Shackets to Get You Through the Chilly Fall Weather”, in Cosmopolitan:
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The removal of a data item from the top of a stack.
Pushes and pops change the stack; indexing just accesses it.2011, Mark Lutz, Programming Python, page 1371:
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A bird, the European redwing.
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Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The sixth derivative of the position vector with respect to time (after velocity, acceleration, jerk, jounce, crackle), i.e. the rate of change of crackle.
And then I got a shock, for a couple of ragged patriots standing close by, leaned over as Elliot moved, their eyes shining viciously, and quick as winking out came their pops, and I saw them ready and willing, yes, darned anxious to shoot.1916, Adventure, volume 13, numbers 1-3, page 129:
Immature peanuts, called "pops," are often included when the peanuts are boiled at home […]1986, Mid-America Folklore, volume 14, page 6:
If the peanuts weren't yet mature, boiling them would make the tiny nuts—or “pops,” as they're called at that immature stage—swell up and become more filling.2013, Becky Billingsley, A Culinary History of Myrtle Beach & the Grand Strand:
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Abbreviation, Colloquial, Ellipsis Ellipsis of freeze pop.
Although they go by many names across the world freezer pop, ice-pole, pop stick icy-pole ice pop, tip top and ice candy but in the hoods of America they are known and respected as Freeze Pops. The pops are made by freezing flavored liquid such as sugar water, Kool-Aid or some form of fruit juice or purée inside a plastic tube - at least the kinds we ate.2017, Kenny Attaway, Black Cream: A Handful of Sky & a Pocketful of Confetti:
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music The pulling of a string away from the fretboard and releasing it so that it snaps back.
Synonyms
the list at soda
pop
verb
Etymology From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
Ergative To burst (something) with a popping sound.
The boy with the pin popped the balloon.
This corn pops well.
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The waves came round her. She was a rock. She was covered with the seaweed which pops when it is pressed. He was lost.1922 October 26, Virginia Woolf, chapter 1, in Jacob’s Room, Richmond, London: […] Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished London: The Hogarth Press, 1960, →OCLC:
"To torture another metaphor, it would be the difference between slowly letting the air out of a balloon, and popping it. Though the dam metaphor is more apt, what with the excess magic flooding outward."2016 October 10, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Monday, Oct 10, 2016:
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Usually, With in To enter, or issue forth, with a quick, sudden movement; to move from place to place suddenly; to dart.
Out; upon; out; upon
A rabbit popped out of the hole.
He that hath . . ./ Popp'd in between the election and my hopes.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii], line 65:
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I startled at his popping upon me unexpectedly.1712 January 20 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “WEDNESDAY, January 10, 1711–1712”, in The Spectator, number 271; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
So, diving in a bottomless sea, they [the Roman Church] pop sometimes above water to take breath.1626, John Donne, “On the Nativity”, in Sermons, section IV:
others again have a trick of popping up and down every moment from their paper, to the audience, like an idle schoolboy1720, Jonathan Swift, A Letter to a Young Clergyman:
When company comes, you are not to pop out and stare, and then run in again, like frightened rabbits in a warren.1773, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, section II:
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Australia, UK To place (something) (somewhere); to move or position (something) with a short movement.
Just pop it in the fridge for now.
He popped his head around the door.
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Mix a pancake, Stir a pancake, Pop it in the pan;[…]1986, Christina Rossetti, edited by Alfred Knopf, Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young, Mix a Pancake, page 50:
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Often, Usually, With over To make a short trip or visit.
Round; along; in; round; along; in
I'm just popping round to the newsagent.
I'll pop by your place later today.
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You wait in the car, I'm just gonna pop in the store.
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To stand out; to be distinctive to the senses.
This colour really pops.
She also looked like a star - and not the Beltway type. On a stage full of stiff suits, she popped.2011 July 18, Robert Costa, “The Battle from Waterloo: Representative Bachmann runs for president”, in National Review:
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IK what you’re thinking: Why bright for fall? But it’s actually a great hack for making your hair pop a bit more against all those big black coats and jackets.2024 September 5, Beth Gillette, “24 Fall Hair Colors Every Celebrity Is Asking for Rn”, in Cosmopolitan:
Ah concur wi Sharon’s wishes n fuck her in the fanny. […] Ah think aboot how close she is tae poppin and how far up ah am, […]1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, “Bang to Rites”, in Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 219:
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To remove (a data item) from the top of a stack.
Once the callee (the called function) terminates, it cleans the stack that it has been locally using and pops the next value stored on top of the stack.2010, Enrico Perla, Massimiliano Oldani, A Guide to Kernel Exploitation: Attacking the Core, page 55:
The algorithm pops the stack to obtain a new current node when there are no more children (when it reaches a leaf).2011, John Mongan, Noah Kindler, Eric Giguère, Programming Interviews Exposed:
Well, dear. You're ready to pop, aren't you? Little one's on its way.2011 May 28, Matthew Graham, “The Almost People”, in Julian Simpson, director, Doctor Who, season 6/32, episode 6, spoken by Madame Kovarian (Frances Barber):
"Gavin told me one of his friends was pregnant, but my goodness, she looks ready to pop."2021 April 12, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1362 - Prophecy:
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To sexually penetrate.
African-American Vernacular
A lot of Black men are deluding themselves into thinking they're not homosexual or bisexual, even though they are having sex with other men. They're not 'gay,' but sure, they've 'popped some sissies.'1988 February 21, Dwight McGhee, quoting AIDS in the Black Community [1987], “Black PWAs Tell Their Stories”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 31, page 9:
Why Halle have to let a white man pop her to get a Oscar?2004, “Why”, performed by Jadakiss:
I had to pop my watch to see me through until pay-day.
I often used to smile at a young Ensign of the Guards, who always popped his sword and watch when he wanted cash for an intrigue; […]1773, The Westminster Magazine, Or, The Pantheon of Taste:
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Mr. Attenborough is naturally indignant at the accusation of Lord Truro that every pawnbroker keeps a smelting apparatus on the premises. He says the practice has been discontinued for many years, and our esteemed relative — the Universal Uncle — objects to the insinuation that when a thing is popped it goes to pot.1878, Fun, volumes 27-28, page 92:
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Slang To swallow or consume (especially a tablet of a drug, sometimes extended to other small items such as sweets or candy).
We were drinking beer and popping pills — some really strong downers. I could hardly walk and I had no idea what I was saying.1994, Ruth Garner, Patricia A. Alexander, Beliefs about text and instruction with text:
31 pop some chocolate You'll stay sharp and focused for that final lunge toward the weekend. Milk chocolate has been shown to boost verbal and visual memory, impulse control, and reaction time.2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 135:
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Informal To perform (a move or stunt) while riding a board or vehicle.
Pop a U-turn. You missed the turnoff.
Huck spun along the beams and joists, making me gulp when she popped a wheelie or swerved past a gaping hole...1995, David Brin, Startide Rising:
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The tail is the back of the deck; this is the part that enables skaters to pop ollies...2009, Ben Wixon, Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design:
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Of the ears To undergo equalization of pressure when the Eustachian tubes open.
My ears popped as the aeroplane began to ascend.
With its airtight seals, the pressure change as trains entered the black, dust-covered station areas caused our ears to pop and doors to flap and bang every time.2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How we made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in RAIL, number 934, page 49:
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Dance, Dancing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports To perform the popping style of dance.
Let the poppers pop and the breakers break / We're cool, cool cats, it's like that1985, “King of Rock”, performed by Run-DMC:
He's on probation. We can pop him right now for gang association.
On the night Nolan got popped, the same cop delivered Milton home in the back of the cruiser, but didn’t turn the lights on.2021, Brandon Taylor, “Filthy Animals”, in Filthy Animals, Daunt Books Originals, page 131:
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Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music To pull a string away from the fretboard and release it so that it snaps back.
Etymology From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
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A loud, sharp sound, as of a cork coming out of a bottle.
Pop, would go one of the eight-inch guns; a small flame would dart and vanish, a little white smoke would disappear, a tiny projectile would give a feeble screech - and nothing happened.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 203:
So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, 'Up we go! Up we go!' till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, page 2:
Etymology 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.
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A social club and debating society at Eton College.
As to the tall, curly-haired man, I suppose it was the one who was with me at the last Pop.1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable and Company, […], →OCLC:
GUNNISON 35.5m. (153 alt., 484 pop.), is larger than the usual plantation town, having several stores instead of one.2010 November 12, Robert S. McElvaine, The WPA Guide to the Magnolia State, page 349:
Derived terms
gen pop
pop
noun
Etymology From colloquial Russian поп (pop) and Попъ (Pop), from Old Church Slavonic попъ (popŭ), from Byzantine Greek πάπας (pápas) (see pope). Doublet of pope.
There was at that time in the house of the Consul a Pop (or Russian Priest) named Iwan Afanassich.1822, Mikhaïlov Vasiliï, Adventures of Michailow, section 4:
The contemporary priest's... own children are ashamed and some abusers are openly "transmitting the pop" (a gesture of mocking the priest on the street, where a man would touch his private parts while smiling at other passers-by)2001, Spas Raïkin, Rebel with a Just Cause, 292 n.28:
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By the end of 1809 she was declaring to all and sundry that she would sooner marry 'a pop than the sovereign of a country under the influence of France'. Since a pop was a Russian Orthodox parish priest, the reference was hardly likely to endear her family to the French.2006, Peter Neville, A Traveller's History of Russia, section 123: