- cop
- 1. to stealLiterally, to catch or seize:I was taken by two pals to an orchard to cop some fruit. (Horsley, 1887)2. a policemanUsually thought to be a shortened form of copper but also because he cops or seizes you:The fuzz — that's what they call them now, not cops any more. (Ustinov, 1971)A cop shop or house is a police station:I have to go to the cop house just about now. (Chandler, 1958)Cop, prison is obsolete.3. American to obtain illegal narcoticsThrough buying, stealing, or howsoever:... she's too scared to go out and cop on her own. (Turow, 1999)4. to experience sexuallyAs in cop a feel, to fondle a female sexually, or cop a cherry, to copulate. Less often of homosexual activity:He has shown the world what happened when a scrawny little Frenchman tried to cop his joint. (King, 1996; and see joint2)
How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. R. W. Holder. 2014.