Hop is a quick, bouncing jump, usually on one foot or with both feet together. When you play hopscotch, you hop from square to square. A rabbit hops across a field, pushing off with its strong back legs and landing softly. Basketball players hop on one foot to gather themselves before shooting.

The word can also mean a short, quick trip. Someone might take a hop over to a neighbor's house, or hop on a bus for a quick ride downtown. Flight attendants use this meaning too: a short hop describes a brief flight between nearby cities.

Hops (plural) are the cone-shaped flowers of a climbing vine, used to give some drinks, especially beer, a distinctive bitter flavor. Brewers have used hops for over a thousand years, and today hop farms grow specific varieties that create different flavors.

When you hop to it, you start doing something immediately with energy and focus. If a coach says “hop to it” before practice, they mean get started right away. The phrase suggests the quickness of an actual hop: no delay, no hesitation, just swift action.