What does hopper mean?
Word: Hopper
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Hopper means a large container that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Grain, sand or gravel is tipped in at the top and runs out through the opening below.
How do you spell hopper?
Syllables: hop - per
Tricky part: The ending is said softly, like the a in about, so children often write hoppa or hoppar. It is spelt er.
Watch out for: hoppa, hoppar
Memory tip: Hopper ends with the same er as paper and ladder. Picture both of them leaning against a hopper in a barn.
Hopper in a sentence
Example 1: The farmer tipped a sack of wheat into the hopper at the top of the machine.
Example 2: Aarav watched a grasshopper jump from leaf to leaf in the garden.
Example 3: At the building site, a big hopper poured gravel into the back of a lorry.
Fun Fact
The name is thought to come from hop: early grain hoppers shook and jiggled as the grain ran down through them.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) saddle
b) pebble
c) bucket
d) hoper
Show answer
d) hoper. The bin that grain is tipped into is spelt with two p's; pebble, saddle and bucket are all correct.
Sound Check
Which of the following words has the same 'o' sound as in hopper?
a) hole
b) rope
c) boat
d) bottle
Show answer
d) bottle. Bottle has the short o of hop; boat, hole and rope all say the o like its name.
Word Champ
Which of the words cannot be made using the letters in the given word?
hopper
a) hero
b) proper
c) hope
d) pore
Show answer
b) proper. Proper needs two r's, but hopper has only one; hope, pore and hero fit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A hopper is narrow at the bottom. What does this help it do?
a) keep its load warm on cold nights
b) fold up flat when it is empty
c) let its load out a little at a time
d) stand up straight in strong winds
Show answer
c) let its load out a little at a time
2. Where would you be most likely to see a hopper being used?
a) in a library
b) at a swimming pool
c) at a flour mill
d) in a music room
Show answer
c) at a flour mill
