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cropper. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
cropper, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
cropper in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
cropper you have here. The definition of the word
cropper will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
cropper, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
See come a cropper.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- (normally confined to the expression come a cropper) A fall, a tumble; a decided failure.
1900, Sigmund Freud, “The Interpretation of Dreams”, in James Strachey, transl., Avon Books, page: 185:But to myself I thought: ‘Considering that for eight whole years I sat on the front bench as top of the class while he drifted about somewhere in the middle, he can hardly fail to nourish a wish, left over from his schooldays, that some day or other I may come a complete cropper.’
1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 29:You're riding for a fall, Healey, you know that? There are hedges and ditches ahead and you are on course for an almighty cropper.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
crop + -er, in reference to a bird's crop.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A breed of domestic pigeon with large crop.
Etymology 3
crop + -er (occupational suffix) or + -er (relational suffix), in reference to agricultural crops.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A person who nurtures and gathers a crop.
- A variety of plant producing a good harvest.
1901 July 5, “Coast Fruit”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record, volume 4, number 9, page 284:The mango tree cannot be regarded as a reliable cropper.
Etymology 4
crop + -er, from the verb.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A machine for cropping, as for shearing off bolts or rod iron, or for facing cloth.
Derived terms