hop

Etymology 1

From Middle English hoppen, from Old English hoppian (“to hop, spring, leap, dance”), from Proto-Germanic *huppōną (“to hop”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewb- (“to bend, bow”). Cognate with Dutch hoppen (“to hop”), German hopfen, hoppen (“to hop”), Swedish hoppa (“to hop, leap, jump”), Icelandic hoppa (“to hop, skip”).

noun

1. A short jump.
   The frog crossed the brook in three or four hops.
2. A jump on one leg.
3. A short journey, especially in the case of air travel, one that takes place on a private plane.
   My fellow passengers are a mixture of people returning from a day out in the capital, locals doing short hops, and a few (like me) heading farther afield. December 2 2020, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68
4. (sports, US) A bounce, especially from the ground, of a thrown or batted ball.
5. (UK, US, slang, dated) A dance; a gathering for the purpose of dancing.
   1896, Benjamin Brierley, James Dronsfield, "Ab-o'th'-Yate" Sketches and Other Short Stories One singing-room we had closed, and so damaged a "twopenny hop" that it could not have survived another season had our own prosperity continued unchecked.
6. (networking) The sending of a data packet from one host to another as part of its overall journey.

verb

1. (intransitive) To jump a short distance.
2. (intransitive) To jump on one foot.
3. (intransitive) To be in state of energetic activity.
   Sorry, can't chat. Got to hop.
   The sudden rush of customers had everyone in the shop hopping.
4. (transitive) To suddenly take a mode of transportation that one does not drive oneself, often surreptitiously.
   I hopped a plane over here as soon as I heard the news.
   He was trying to hop a ride in an empty trailer headed north.
   He hopped a train to California.
5. (transitive) To jump onto, or over
   They hop the curb and cut their engines. 2018 February, Robert Draper, “They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-06-14
   As the 1857 to Manchester Piccadilly rolls in, I scan the windows and realise there are plenty of spare seats, so I hop aboard. The train is a '221'+'220' combo to allow for social distancing - a luxury on an XC train as normally you're playing sardines, so I make the most of it. December 2 2020, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 68
6. (intransitive, usually in combination) To move frequently from one place or situation to another similar one.
   We were party-hopping all weekend.
   bar-hopping
   We had to island-hop on the weekly seaplane to get to his hideaway.
7. (informal, intransitive) To go in a quick or sudden manner.
   We hopped on the freeway heading to LA and I looked over at the dashboard and saw the needle back on “E” and I told the guy, “Hey! You going to make it with the gas you got?" 2010, Tony Gin, My Blessed Demons, page 285
   Juliet shook her head as she hopped on the computer and greeted a customer who ambled in, blowing on her still wet nails. 2016, A.P. Jensen, Closure
   Spangler hopped up from the control panel and stretched, pressing his hands to his lower back. 2018, Sean Grigsby, Daughters of Forgotten Light
   She hopped on the computer and typed away, going back and forth between Mark's fake I.D., the deposit slip and the computer screen. 2020, Michael Hewes, The Milk Wagon
8. (informal) To dance.
9. (obsolete) To walk lame; to limp.

Etymology 2

From Middle English hoppe, from Middle Dutch hoppe, from Old Dutch *hoppo, from Proto-Germanic *huppô. Cognate with German Hopfen and French houblon.

noun

1. The plant Humulus lupulus, native to northern Europe, the female flowers of which are used to flavour many types of beer during brewing.
2. (usually in the plural) The flowers of the hop plant, dried and used to brew beer etc.
3. (US, slang) Opium, or some other narcotic drug.
   ‘You've been shot full of hop and kept under it until you're as crazy as two waltzing mice.’ 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin, published 2010, page 177
4. The fruit of the dog rose; a hip.

verb

1. (transitive) To impregnate with hops, especially to add hops as a flavouring agent during the production of beer
2. (intransitive) To gather hops.