Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🎶 A dance song 🎷 A jazz style 💃 To dance playfully 👊 To hit quickly
to bop

to bop

6 6.1
To move your body to music in a lively way
  • verb
  • /bɑp/
translation icon : bailar
  • She loves to bop her head to the music when she's driving.
  • bop around
  • bop till you drop
  • need to bop

And you want to like, shut down the alien head bopping farms.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The kids were excited to bop along to their favorite songs at the party.

  • You can bop along to your bubblegum pop like "Call Me Maybe" and your international dance fads like "Gangnam Style."

    Blog text (18)

  • You want to bop a little bit, girls.

    Punchline (1988)

  • Why don't we just bop over to my house?

    National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1982)

  • I also love to look and shop at Rue 21, and I even bop around to the music a bit.

    Blog text (32)

  • We're all gonna dress up in 50s style and bop around being total stereotypes.

    Blog text (26)

  • So I learned how to clog, but I also learned how to bop, and bopping is the Florida version of the North Carolina shag.

    WIRED

  • Yeah, let's just bop on over to Walt and Shirley's house - for egg-nog and a yule log.

    She's Having a Baby (1988)

  • Whenever the beat drops, everyone starts to bop to the rhythm on the dance floor.

Synonyms

to dance
vsto bop
579 1.0

To move quickly and lightly from side to side or up and down

is focused on playful rhythmic body movement rather than general light quick motion
to boogie
vsto bop
  • Informal
28 7.5

Dance energetically to lively upbeat music

is playful rhythmic motion not restricted to one upbeat music style
to groove
vsto bop
  • Informal
18 3.9

To enjoy music and move your body to its rhythm

is more playful and bouncy rather than smooth relaxed body motion
to bust a move
vsto bop
  • Informal
11 8.9

To dance with a lot of energy to show skill or have fun

is ongoing playful rhythmic motion rather than a bold starting action
to disco
vsto bop
  • Archaic
2 4.8

To dance to lively music with a steady bass beat

is playful rhythmic motion across styles, not tied to one musical era
to hit the dance floor
vsto bop
  • Informal
2 3.9

To start dancing at a party or club

refers to playful rhythmic body movement itself rather than simply starting to join
to boogie on down
vsto bop
  • Informal
1 8.8

To dance in a lively way to music

is playful rhythmic motion with more lighthearted bouncy quality than that
to jive to the rhythm
vsto bop
  • Informal
7.5

Dance quickly and happily to the beat of music

is lighter and more playful in rhythmic body movement than that
to steppin'
vsto bop
  • Informal
8.4

Move your feet in time with music as a dance

involves whole body playful rhythmic motion rather than only rhythmic foot action
to break dance
vsto bop
3.7

To perform a street dance with quick acrobatic moves to hip-hop music

is playful rhythmic movement without acrobatics or specialist street technique

Antonyms

to stand still
75 1.0

Stay upright in one place without moving

Compounds

hard bop
1 7.9

A kind of jazz from the 1950s with a strong blues feeling and soulful sound

How Energetic

jump
191 1.0
to bop
6 6.1
to dance
∞ 1.0
to sway
77 2.4

Surface Forms

bop infinitive
bopped past
bopped past participle
bopping present participle
bops third person singular

Etymology

Bop for dancing comes from the jazz style bebop, whose quick beats and lively rhythms made people move and dance. So to bop is to dance with lively, rhythmic movements.