chopped into small pieces

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phrase

   cut with a knife or similar tool so that the food becomes many little bits.

   Grammar: Comes after a food noun: 'carrots chopped into small pieces.' Use 'chop something into small pieces' when you give an instruction.

   Patterns

   • something chopped into small pieces
   • chop something into small pieces
   • finely chopped into small pieces

   Add one onion chopped into small pieces and cook it for two minutes.

   The recipe calls for mushrooms chopped into small pieces, not sliced.

   He served the chicken chopped into small pieces with rice and vegetables.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasefigurative

   broken or torn apart so that something is left in many little fragments.

   Grammar: Used about things that are not food, often after 'be': 'the paper was chopped into small pieces.'

   Patterns

   • be chopped into small pieces
   • get chopped into small pieces

   The old newspaper was chopped into small pieces and used to pack the boxes.

   After the storm, branches lay chopped into small pieces across the road.

Common combinations

finely chopped into small pieces

Chop the herbs finely into small pieces before adding them to the sauce.

roughly chopped into small pieces

The tomatoes were roughly chopped into small pieces, so the sauce stayed chunky.

chop an onion into small pieces

First chop an onion into small pieces and fry it gently.

cut into small pieces

Cut the meat into small pieces so it cooks quickly.

chopped into small pieces and fried

The potatoes were chopped into small pieces and fried until golden.

Synonyms and how they differ

diced

Use 'diced' for neat, even cubes of a set size, while 'chopped into small pieces' suggests a rougher, less regular cut.

minced

'Minced' means cut extremely fine, much smaller than 'chopped into small pieces.'

cut up

'Cut up' is more general and does not say how small the pieces are.

Opposites

Word family

chop verb

to cut something with quick, heavy movements.

chopper noun

a tool or machine used for chopping food.

chopping board noun

a flat board used as a surface for chopping food.

Commonly confused: chopped into small pieces or sliced? chopped into small pieces or grated?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “chopped into small pieces”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words