choppy
Americanadjective
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(of the sea, a lake, etc.) forming short, irregular, broken waves.
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(of the wind) shifting or changing suddenly or irregularly; variable.
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uneven in style or quality or characterized by poorly related parts.
The book was a choppy first novel.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of choppy
Explanation
When water is choppy, it's wind-blown and rippling with waves. It's tricky for a beginner to sail in a choppy lake. Choppy usually describes what happens to the surface of a body of water during a storm. Strong wind blowing across a bay, for example, turns the water choppy and rough. Something with a jerky, abrupt way of moving or flowing is also choppy, whether it's a piece of music or a filmed scene in a movie. In the 1600s, a stormy sea was described as chopping, which had changed to choppy by about 1830.
Vocabulary lists containing choppy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Liz Davey, 61, from Gosforth in Newcastle, completed the mile event and described conditions on Saturday as "pretty choppy".
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
The company is benefiting from rising AI adoption as well as more clients turning to its platform to navigate a choppy trade environment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Oppenheimer analysts on Friday called Lululemon a “rudderless ship in increasingly choppy seas.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
Teen unemployment, which typically runs much higher than the national average, has been choppy so far this year.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
Something about their movements, choppy and stilted, made me feel awkward.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
