wop
UK/wɒp//wɑp/
wop noun: a person of Italian descent. Also the alternative form of whop.
Noun (1)
wop (plural wops)
- A person of Italian descent.
- Detective J.J. McVea of the Charles street station, who arrested the boys, says that the robbery of the safe was a remarkable one and showed no trace of amateurism. It was committed by four boys. Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third...1906 February 16, “[arrests for a larceny]”, in The Sun, New York City, U.S.
- There was a time, not very long ago, when you couldn't find a Wop -- that means an Italian in the latest downtown dialect -- in Danny's resort even by using a microscope. But to-day it's different. The members of the Five Points gang, all dark skinned sons of Sicily, grew tired of flitting from...1906 November 18, The Sun, New York City, U.S., page 16
Noun (2) capitalized: WOP
WOP
- Acronym of workshop-oriented programming.
- To exemplify the significance of government policy we refer to the German government-sponsored WOP-programme on "shopfloor-oriented programming of CNC-machine tools" (Nuber, et al., 1989 and WOP Conference Materials, 1987).1990, Waldemar Karwowski, Mansour Rahimi, Ergonomics of Hybrid Automated Systems II: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing and Hybrid...
- The success of the Traub WOP system has encouraged other manufacturers to produce their own WOP systems. However, there are reports from Germany that some WOP systems are not as flexible as Traub's.1994, Waldemar Karwowski, Gavriel Salvendy, Organization and Management of Advanced Manufacturing, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 182
Noun (3) capitalized: Wop
Wop (plural Wops)
- Alternative letter-case form of wop (“derogatory: Italian”).
- Where do you work-a, Wop?
In da big-a da barber shop.
What do you do-a, Wop?1926, Mortimer Weinberg, Charley Marks, Harry Warren, Where Do You Work-a John?: Popular Standard; Single Songbook, Roba Digital Sheets, →ISBN - A Wop has to overcome more handicaps than a pure Anglo-Saxon, therefore he has to run twice as fast, or else he will be treated forever as a Wop. An alien, if he wants to have a chance, has to mix in some church or lodge or trade-union ...1999, Salvatore John LaGumina, Wop!: A Documentary History of Anti-Italian Discrimination in the United States, Guernica Editions, →ISBN, page 254
- Where do you work-a, Wop?
Also used as
wop is also the alternative form of whop.
Examples of wop in a sentence
- Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third street, and one whom Lyons calls “Oscar the Wop,” or “Oscar the Dago.”1906 February 16, “[arrests for a larceny]”, in The Sun, New York City, U.S.:
- There was a time, not very long ago, when you couldn't find a Wop -- that means an Italian in the latest downtown dialect -- in Danny's resort even by using a microscope.1906 November 18, The Sun, New York City, U.S., page 16:
- It is hardly possible to go to an entertainment at the 'club' without seeing a wop as he is called by the votaries of the game, matched against a bruiser from the native land of John L.1909 October 9, “NATIONS THAT PRODUCE THE BEST PRIZE FIGHTERS.”, in Brooklyn Times-Union, Brooklyn, New York, U.S., page 13:
Forms of wop
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | wops |
| plural | Wops |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | wops |
| present participle | wopping |
| past participle | wopped |
| past | wopped |
Origin of wop
From Neapolitan guappo (“dude, stud”), a greeting borrowed from Spanish guapo (“bold, handsome”). Contrary to popular belief, the term is not an acronym of without passport or working off passage, which are backronyms derived from the term. First attested in New York City around 1906, eventually also spreading to Canada, Australia, and Britain.
Words formed from wop
Phrases with wop
Words that rhyme with wop
44 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about wop
- What does wop mean?
- Wop means a person of Italian descent.
- How do you use wop in a sentence?
- Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third street, and one whom Lyons calls “Oscar the Wop,” or “Oscar the Dago.”
- What part of speech is wop?
- Wop is a noun.
- How do you pronounce wop?
- Wop is pronounced /wɒp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of wop?
- The plural of wop is wops.
Words near wop in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wop (page history and authors); WOP (page history and authors); Wop (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-wop.ogg, En-us-wop.oga.
Cite this entry: “wop.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wop. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.