chop down
phrasal verb
chopped down; chopping down; chops down
: to cut (a tree, bush, etc.) at the bottom so that it falls to the ground
He chopped the tree down.
She chopped down some thick grape vines.
Examples of chop down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The story goes that the people on the remote island chopped down all the trees to build massive stone statues, triggering a population collapse.
—
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024
But trees are chopped down all the time, sometimes to be made into paper, the substance on which photos are most often printed.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
But that cushion, which the guardrails system normally would use to pay down the state’s pension debt, could get chopped down considerably if the governor endorses his fellow Democrats’ plans.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2024
The narrator chops down the trees to use their foliage to knit clothing.
—The Week Staff, theweek, 24 May 2024
That makes this machete perfect for chopping down small brush and cutting firewood or thicker brush with the saw edge.
—Rachel Ahrnsen, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 May 2024
Indeed, technology now advances so quickly that by the time the trees are chopped down for a sci-fi book to be printed, its futuristic visions are already passé.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2011
In response, conservationists here are frantically chopping down trees — and are even contemplating burning them down.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
Groves of ancient redwoods and other trees were chopped down and sent south to help build a fast-growing San Francisco.
—Soumya Karlamangla, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024
But trees are chopped down all the time, sometimes to be made into paper, the substance on which photos are most often printed.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 21 June 2024
But that cushion, which the guardrails system normally would use to pay down the state’s pension debt, could get chopped down considerably if the governor endorses his fellow Democrats’ plans.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 3 Apr. 2024
The narrator chops down the trees to use their foliage to knit clothing.
—The Week Staff, theweek, 24 May 2024
That makes this machete perfect for chopping down small brush and cutting firewood or thicker brush with the saw edge.
—Rachel Ahrnsen, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 May 2024
Indeed, technology now advances so quickly that by the time the trees are chopped down for a sci-fi book to be printed, its futuristic visions are already passé.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2011
In response, conservationists here are frantically chopping down trees — and are even contemplating burning them down.
—Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024
Groves of ancient redwoods and other trees were chopped down and sent south to help build a fast-growing San Francisco.
—Soumya Karlamangla, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chop down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Chop down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chop%20down. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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