Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural The jaws.
  • noun plural The mouth.
  • noun plural The lower cheeks or jowls.
  • noun plural Muttonchops.
  • noun plural Slang The technical skill with which a jazz or rock musician performs.
  • idiom (bust (someone's) chops) To scold or insult someone.
  • idiom (bust (someone's) chops) To disappoint or defeat someone.
  • idiom (bust (someone's) chops) To hold a building contractor to the letter of an agreement.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun plural The jaws; also, the fleshy parts about the mouth.
  • noun plural The sides or capes at the mouth of a river, channel, harbor, or bay.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of chop.
  • noun plurale tantum The mouth, jaws or jowl.
  • noun plurale tantum, music, informal A wind instrument player's embouchure.
  • noun plurale tantum, informal One's skill at musical interpretation and delivery; musical performance ability.
  • noun plurale tantum, informal One's skill at any endeavor.
  • noun plurale tantum, nautical The area where two tides meet and cause an irregular (choppy) sea.
  • noun plurale tantum, juggling A pattern that involves carrying the object with the hand over the next object before throwing it.
  • verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of chop.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Possibly akin to chop. N. 3, originally in reference to the embouchure of trumpeters.]

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