chop up

Meaning

'Chop up' is a phrasal verb that means to cut something, especially food like vegetables, fruit, or meat, into smaller pieces using a knife. The particle 'up' emphasizes cutting the entire item into pieces.

Examples

• Could you please chop up the onions while I prepare the meat?

  Could you please chop up the onions while I prepare the meat?

• You need to chop up the carrots into small cubes before adding them to the soup.

  You need to chop up the carrots into small cubes before adding them to the soup.

• She chopped the tomatoes up and tossed them into the salad bowl.

  She chopped the tomatoes up and tossed them into the salad bowl.

• It's much easier to chop up herbs if you use a very sharp knife.

  It's much easier to chop up herbs if you use a very sharp knife.

• He quickly chopped up some wood for the fire, then went inside to chop up the vegetables for dinner.

  He quickly chopped up some wood for the fire, then went inside to chop up the vegetables for dinner.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to chop down these carrots for the salad.

  ✓ I need to chop up these carrots for the salad.

  'Chop down' is used for cutting down large things like trees. For food, always use 'chop up' or just 'chop'.

• ✗ She chopped up the bread into slices.

  ✓ She sliced the bread.

  'Chop up' implies using quick, forceful downward cuts (like with a chef's knife on a cutting board). For bread, 'slice' or 'cut' is much more natural.

Related Expressions

Practice

• First, you need to ___ the garlic into very fine pieces.

  💡 Cut into pieces with a knife.

  Show answer

  chop up

• He took a sharp knife and began to ___ the chicken for the stir-fry.

  💡 A phrasal verb meaning to cut into pieces.

  Show answer

  chop up