lopping (off)

present participle of lop (off)
as in shaving
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument the hair stylist started by lopping off several inches from her long tresses, before beginning to shape what was left

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lopping (off)
Verb
  • After finally shaving his beard off, Colbert concluded the interview by gifting Kimmel something special from his show.
    — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Colbert had no hesitation about taking the tool to his facial hair, shaving it off and returning to his recognizable clean-shaven look.
    — Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The sanctions are aimed at cutting the ICC off from the global financial system and include threats of punishment for countries that do business with the court.
    — Susannah George, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The city faced a $1-billion budget shortfall in 2025 but, after various cost-cutting measures, managed to set aside funding for the LAPD to hire more than 500 new officers in the coming year.
    — Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • While many breweries are indeed closing or cutting back, some more expansive taprooms with food options — including 30hop and Big Grove Brewery — are making a splash in the metro.
    — Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Oct. 2026
  • That would allow the market to self-correct by cutting back on spending.
    — Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Rather than trimming that weight, Fukushima's lab asked whether anything needed to be worn at all.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Spectator interference became the ruling, and Volpe was awarded an RBI double that scored Lombard from first base, trimming Tampa Bay's lead to 4-3.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Gen Z Wants to Go Ghost, Not Girlboss That said, the characters do have to be worth clipping, and love him or hate him, Ryan Murphy has always had a knack for creating fictional people who feel bigger than whatever nonsensical story spawned them.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The sequence stylistically excises itself from the episode as though clipping it, anticipating its excision from the show when uploaded to a video-sharing platform.
    — Harmon Siegel, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Lopping (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lopping%20%28off%29. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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