Pop Meaning
/pɒp/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA loud, sharp sound, as of a cork coming out of a bottle, especially when the contents are pressurized by fizziness.
nounAn effervescent or fizzy drink, most frequently nonalcoholic; soda pop.
Sentence Examples
Pop artists thrive on the adulation of their loyal fans.
Last year's pop hit was set off by a serial TV drama.
I like any kind of pop or dance music.
CEFR Practice Quiz
I need to ____ into the convenience store to buy a drink.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She heard the cork ____ as her friend opened the champagne bottle to celebrate the promotion.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English pop, poppe (“a blow; strike; buffet”) (> Middle English poppen (“to strike; thrust”, verb)), of onomatopoeic origin – used to describe the sound, or short, sharp actions. The physics sense is part of a facetious sequence "snap, crackle, pop", after the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"You have not taken anything off "pop" yet, and "pop" is the working-class drink. For the working-classes it is "pop" and cockles, just as with the upper classes it is champagne and oysters."
— 1923, Ben Turner, “Estate Duty”, in parliamentary debates (House of Commons), column 186:
"The best thing on the table was a tray full of bottles of lemon pop."
— 1941 September 8, LIFE, page 27:
"British rockers Radiohead solved the "music is dead" dispute last year by allowing fans to name a price for the group's new album, In Rainbows. (More than a million albums sold in the first week alone, at an average $8 a pop)."
— 2008 January–February, Matt Bean, “Your cultural calendar: 7 things to look forward to this year”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134:
"Nothing screams fall like corduroy! I'm loving this deep seafoam green shacket—made of the thick, ribbed material—that'll give a fab pop of color to a muted ensemble."
— 2023 November 4, Kim Duong, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “22 Best Shackets to Get You Through the Chilly Fall Weather”, in Cosmopolitan:
"Pushes and pops change the stack; indexing just accesses it."
— 2011, Mark Lutz, Programming Python, page 1371:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
I need to ____ into the convenience store to buy a drink.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She heard the cork ____ as her friend opened the champagne bottle to celebrate the promotion.