coarsely chopped

Meanings

1. 1adjectivebefore a noun

   Cut into fairly large, uneven pieces, not finely diced.

   Grammar: Comes before the noun it describes: coarsely chopped carrots.

   Patterns

   • coarsely chopped + food noun
   • finely chopped

   Add two coarsely chopped onions and cook them until soft.

   The recipe calls for coarsely chopped walnuts, so just break them with your fingers.

   Top the salad with coarsely chopped parsley.

2. 2adjectiveafter a verb

   Used after a linking verb to say food has been cut into large rough pieces.

   Grammar: Follows is, are, was, were: the carrots are coarsely chopped.

   Patterns

   • be coarsely chopped
   • get coarsely chopped

   The tomatoes should be coarsely chopped before they go in the pan.

   Make sure the nuts are coarsely chopped, not ground into powder.

Common combinations

coarsely chopped onion

Fry a coarsely chopped onion in olive oil.

coarsely chopped nuts

Fold in a cup of coarsely chopped nuts.

coarsely chopped parsley

Garnish with coarsely chopped parsley.

finely chopped

The recipe says finely chopped, but I prefer it coarsely chopped.

roughly chopped

Roughly chopped and coarsely chopped mean almost the same thing.

Synonyms and how they differ

roughly chopped

Very close in meaning; 'roughly chopped' is common in British recipes, while 'coarsely chopped' appears in both British and American ones.

chunked

Describes cutting into bigger, more regular blocks, so it is less uneven than coarsely chopped.

Opposites

Word family

chop verb

To cut something into pieces with a knife.

chopped adjective

Cut into pieces, of any size.

coarse adjective

Large in size or rough in texture, the opposite of fine.

Commonly confused: coarsely chopped or coarse? coarsely chopped or minced?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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