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Glite Dictionary
chop-shop

chop-shop

1 9.3
An illegal garage that takes stolen cars apart to sell the parts
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɑpˌʃɑp/
  • NSFW
translation icon : taller de despiece
  • It's a long way from Zeke's chop shop.

Examples

  • He was arrested for running a chop shop that supplied stolen car parts to various dealers.

  • The police raided the chop shop where stolen vehicles were being dismantled for parts.

  • After investigating the neighborhood, they discovered an illegal chop shop operating in an old garage.

Synonyms

chop shop
vschop-shop
  • NSFW
12 9.3

A garage where thieves take stolen cars to remove parts

has identical meaning but is written with a hyphen

Surface Forms

chop-shop singular
chop-shops plural

Morphology

chop-shop = chop + shop (semi-transparent) = chop + shop

The components 'chop' (cut/dismantle) + 'shop' (place of business) combine logically, but the specific illicit sense 'where stolen vehicles are dismantled for parts' is a specialized, non-obvious extension.

Etymology

Chop-shop comes from the words chop ('to cut') and shop ('place of business'), so imagine a garage where thieves 'cut' a stolen car into pieces. That's why a chop-shop means an illegal workshop where stolen vehicles are taken apart so their parts can be sold.