Browse all

chop up

A2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To cut something into lots of small pieces, like when you chop vegetables for cooking

Literal meaning: To chop (cut) something so it ends up (in an 'up' state of completion) in pieces

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To cut food into smaller pieces for cooking

"Please chop up the carrots and onions before adding them to the pot."

Grammar: separable
2 A2 neutral

To cut or break something large (such as wood or furniture) into smaller parts

"He spent the afternoon chopping up fallen trees after the storm."

Grammar: separable
3 B1 idiomatic informal

To divide something (such as land, a company, or a text) into smaller sections (figurative)

"The developers chopped up the old estate into dozens of smaller plots."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Very common in cooking contexts. Can also be used informally about destroying or damaging something. 'Chop up' suggests the result is many pieces, whereas 'chop off' implies removing one piece. The object can be split: 'chop the onion up' or kept together: 'chop up the onion'.

Commonly used with

onion vegetables meat wood garlic herbs

Forms

Base
chop up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
chops up
he/she/it
Past simple
choped up
yesterday
Past participle
choped up
have + pp
-ing form
choping up
continuous

Understand "chop up" better

Try:

Real video examples

Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.

Want to master this phrasal verb?

Practice "chop up" on Looplines