lops

Trims tree limbs

Lops is the third-person singular of lop, meaning to cut off branches or other parts: She lops the dead limbs from the oak each spring.

To lop off is to remove with a single stroke or decisive action: The editor lops off unnecessary paragraphs.

The word suggests quick, rough cutting rather than careful trimming.

pruning

prune

Desiccated stone fruit

clipCut or attach
shearLateral sliding force
snipSmall quick cut

trim · cutback · shave · pare · crop · thin · truncate · shorten · hack · chop

uneven

asymmetry

Absence of balanced form

imbalanceLack of proportion
unevennessLack of uniformity
tiltAngular deviation from level

skew · off-center · crooked · wonky · askew · listing · leaning · unequal · disproportionate · one-sided

bounding

leap

Sudden springing movement

boundSecured or destined
lopeEasy, swinging gait
strideExtended single footstep

gallop · canter · spring · hop · jump · gait · pace · amble · trot · bounce

Categories

cuts offdisconnects, severs, detaches, unplugs, shuts off

Opposites

cutting/removing vs. adding/attaching

Tissue or shoot transfers

attaches · joins · splices · affixes · connects

shortening vs. extending

Increases in amount

extends · lengthens · cultivates · nurtures · adds

Phrases

lop offCut and remove
lopped offCut off roughly
lopsided victory
lop eared rabbit
lopsided winHeavily unbalanced triumph
lop rabbitBreed with downward ears

Family

lopsided, lop, lopping, lopsidedly, lopsidedness, lopper, lopped, loppers

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G