plural cops
informal
: police officer
They called the cops to report a robbery.
As he awaits trial, the retired cop is on the other side of the law.—
Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson… the department invests in officers and their futures by providing training that makes them better cops.—Laura Lane
Laura Lane
copped; copping
3
: adopt sense 2
cop an attitude
slang
: admit sense 2b
—used with to
these small-timers would … cop to the smallest offense their attorney could negotiate—Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
plural cops
1
copper
2
copulative
3
copy
4
copyright
Synonyms
Examples of cop in a Sentence
Verb
I managed to cop an invitation.
He copped the idea from me.
They expected me to cop all the blame!
He copped the full force of the blow.
Recent Examples on the WebStefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 May 2024
Two facing federal charges in connection to Homestead woman’s carjacking, murder, cops say
He was picked up in Puerto Rico, where he’s being held on an unrelated federal automatic weapons possession and drug trafficking warrant.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
According to an arrest report, the chair landed on the street right next to a group of Nashville cops.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024
Democrats already fear a repeat of the chaos of the 1968 DNC in Chicago where bloody clashes between cops and protesters drew eyes away from the convention goings-on.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Hundreds of fellow cops and loved ones gathered on the streets of Chicago on Monday, April 29 for Huesca’s funeral, according to the Chicago Tribune.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Selleck stars as patriarch and police commissioner Frank Reagen, who leads a family of cops dedicated to protecting their city.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 2 May 2024
Read Next California Someone walked into sheriff’s office with skull in 2001, cops say.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 May 2024
Chris Sommerfeldt and Thomas Tracy | New York Daily News
Over 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested when an army of NYPD cops stormed Columbia University to end the seizure of a school building where all the doors had been barricaded with bicycle locks, officials said Wednesday.
—New York Daily News, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
That said, cop your friends this ski mask that makes all the difference.
—Anna Smoot, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2024
In more pretentious environments, copping at bargain basement prices might be frowned upon.
—Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Just a few spots down, Tony Bennett smiles next to British guitar great Jeff Beck, with beloved comedian/actor Pee Wee Herman copping a squat in the foreground.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2023
Costco Membership cards are not transferable, but that’s not stopped people from borrowing their family members’ or friends’ to cop some savings.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 28 June 2023
Now, both tennis fans and fashion fans alike can cop Coco’s style by picking up a pair of sneakers from Gauff’s New Balance collection online.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Sep. 2023
Switch up the product, and your customers might cop from someone else.
—Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023
Years later, Meta copped TikTok’s format for its Reels offering on Instagram.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 4 July 2023
Noun
Today's top stories: → Kids as young as 3 wounded in shooting at Fort Worth apartments
→ ‘Violent’ attack plan at North Texas middle school listed 32 students, teachers as targets
→ Jury deliberating on death or life in prison for killer who shot woman, cop
🚨Get free alerts when news breaks.
—Stefan Stevenson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 May 2024
Two facing federal charges in connection to Homestead woman’s carjacking, murder, cops say
He was picked up in Puerto Rico, where he’s being held on an unrelated federal automatic weapons possession and drug trafficking warrant.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 3 May 2024
According to an arrest report, the chair landed on the street right next to a group of Nashville cops.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 May 2024
Democrats already fear a repeat of the chaos of the 1968 DNC in Chicago where bloody clashes between cops and protesters drew eyes away from the convention goings-on.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 3 May 2024
Hundreds of fellow cops and loved ones gathered on the streets of Chicago on Monday, April 29 for Huesca’s funeral, according to the Chicago Tribune.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 2 May 2024
Selleck stars as patriarch and police commissioner Frank Reagen, who leads a family of cops dedicated to protecting their city.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 2 May 2024
Read Next California Someone walked into sheriff’s office with skull in 2001, cops say.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 1 May 2024
Chris Sommerfeldt and Thomas Tracy | New York Daily News
Over 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested when an army of NYPD cops stormed Columbia University to end the seizure of a school building where all the doors had been barricaded with bicycle locks, officials said Wednesday.
—New York Daily News, Orange County Register, 1 May 2024
Verb
But getting people to go on camera and talk about copping CDs added another layer to it.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
That said, cop your friends this ski mask that makes all the difference.
—Anna Smoot, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2024
In more pretentious environments, copping at bargain basement prices might be frowned upon.
—Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
Just a few spots down, Tony Bennett smiles next to British guitar great Jeff Beck, with beloved comedian/actor Pee Wee Herman copping a squat in the foreground.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 12 Dec. 2023
Costco Membership cards are not transferable, but that’s not stopped people from borrowing their family members’ or friends’ to cop some savings.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 28 June 2023
Now, both tennis fans and fashion fans alike can cop Coco’s style by picking up a pair of sneakers from Gauff’s New Balance collection online.
—Rudie Obias, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Sep. 2023
Switch up the product, and your customers might cop from someone else.
—Vulture, 2 Aug. 2023
Years later, Meta copped TikTok’s format for its Reels offering on Instagram.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 4 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cop.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cop. Accessed 8 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cop
1 of 2 verb
copped; copping
1
slang
: to get hold of : capture entry 2 sense 1a
2
slang
: steal entry 1 sense 2a
3
: adopt sense 2
cop an attitude
cop
2 of 2 nounEtymology
Verb
probably from Dutch kapen "to steal"
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