pop
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A loud, sharp sound, as of a cork coming out of a bottle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pahpIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɑp
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
countable
A loud, sharp sound, as of a cork coming out of a bottle, especially when the contents are pressurized by fizziness.
(uncountable, regional, Midwestern US, Canada, Inland Northern American, Midlands, Northwestern US, Western Pennsylvania, Northern England) An effervescent or fizzy drink, most frequently nonalcoholic; soda pop.
A pop shot: a quick, possibly unaimed, shot with a firearm.
Something that stands out or is distinctive to the mind or senses.
also in plural
A popular classical music concert.
Pop music.
verb
Make a sharp explosive noise
“The cork of the champagne bottle popped.”
Cause to make a sharp explosive sound
intransitive
To make a pop, or sharp, quick sound.
transitiveUKAustralia
To place (something) (somewhere); to move or position (something) with a short movement.
intransitive
To stand out; to be distinctive to the senses.
transitive
To hit (something or someone).
adjective
used attributively in set phrases
Popular.
Acronym of post office preferred, denoting a standard envelope size.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A loud, sharp sound, as of a cork coming out of a bottle, especially when the contents are pressurized by fizziness.
Used this way, pop is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: loud or sharp sound
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.