as in defeat
a falling short of one's goals
more than a few people were glad to see the obnoxiously smug skater come a cropper at the national championships
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cropper
The family-friend label came a cropper after it was slapped with a multi-million-dollar copyright lawsuit by Disney, Warner Bros. and other major Hollywood studios for making unauthorized cuts – of scenes deemed unsuitable for family viewing by the brothers – to their movies and series.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 June 2025
In January, 1813, at York Castle, fourteen croppers stood trial for rioting and machine breaking, which Parliament had deemed a capital offense in the new Frame-Breaking Act.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Zelensky came a cropper when trying the same thing — but his stock soared back home at a time when Trump seems to be trying to oust him.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
DeSantis' landslide will likely turn out to be the historically most important result from last Tuesday, akin to but with even greater consequences than George W. Bush's victory in Texas in 1998, another midterm year in which the GOP otherwise came a cropper.
—Bradley Gitz, Arkansas Online, 28 Nov. 2022
But on closer inspection, there are differences: This cropper is shirtless, his backside a bit too pert, and the stalks of asparagus growing from the ground are, in fact, penises.
—Max Norman David Chow Victoria Petro-Conroy, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022
Intent is where the Manhattan District Attorney’s financial case seemed to come a cropper.
—Norman Eisen, CNN, 30 Mar. 2022
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 June 2025
In January, 1813, at York Castle, fourteen croppers stood trial for rioting and machine breaking, which Parliament had deemed a capital offense in the new Frame-Breaking Act.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
Zelensky came a cropper when trying the same thing — but his stock soared back home at a time when Trump seems to be trying to oust him.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
DeSantis' landslide will likely turn out to be the historically most important result from last Tuesday, akin to but with even greater consequences than George W. Bush's victory in Texas in 1998, another midterm year in which the GOP otherwise came a cropper.
—Bradley Gitz, Arkansas Online, 28 Nov. 2022
But on closer inspection, there are differences: This cropper is shirtless, his backside a bit too pert, and the stalks of asparagus growing from the ground are, in fact, penises.
—Max Norman David Chow Victoria Petro-Conroy, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2022
Intent is where the Manhattan District Attorney’s financial case seemed to come a cropper.
—Norman Eisen, CNN, 30 Mar. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cropper
Noun
-
The Champions League brought an elimination at the hands of Real Madrid in the Round of 16 and there was heartbreak in the FA Cup final for the second consecutive year with defeat to Cyrstal Palace.—
Dan Cancian,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
-
Although an appeal remains possible, the ruling delivers a decisive and public defeat for Baldoni and Wayfarer in their attempt to reframe the fallout over the film.—
Josh Rottenberg,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Noun
-
While human error is the leading cause of data loss, other causes include hardware failure, theft, software corruption, viruses, natural disasters and power failure.—
Chongwei Chen,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
-
Yesterday, when asked about Musk’s criticism--which could sink the entire bill, if enough Senate Republicans like Ron Johnson and their constituents turn against it--the president chalked it up to sour grapes over the bill’s failure to extend EV tax credits.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
Critics of renewables will rightly point out that renewables are cheap as long as battery storage is not included in their price, and the sudden collapse of an entire electric grid for 12 hours incurs a staggering economic burden that should be priced into cost calculations.—
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon,
Forbes.com,
8 June 2025
-
Beutel, a computer engineer specializing in mountain monitoring, had just witnessed a glacier collapse.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
How will investigators determine the cause of the crash?—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
13 June 2025
-
Just hours before the accident, Kapur made a tribute to the Air India plane crash tragedy.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
13 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cropper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cropper. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share