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To tweak a well-known line from Hamlet, brevity is the soul of quip. While jokes are often brief stories with setups followed by surprising and funny endings (chickens crossing roads, elephant footprints in the butter, etc.) quips are even briefer, and not so planned or scripted. They are more likely to arise naturally in conversation when someone is especially quick-witted, firing off zingers, retorts, or—if you want to get extra fancy about it—bon mots. Brevity also plays a role in quip's etymology: quip is a shortening of quippy, a now-obsolete noun of the same meaning. Quippy's origins are uncertain, but they may lie in the Latin word quippe, meaning "indeed" or "to be sure," which was often used ironically. Quip entered English as a noun in the 1500s, but was verbified within decades; the verb quip means "to make quips" or "to jest or jibe at."
Examples of quip in a Sentence
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 11 June 2026
Whether captivating viewers with his effortless charm or displaying an emotional depth that belies his humorous quips, London Brown has carved out a space as both a dramatic force and an undeniable comedic standout.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 10 June 2026
Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026
Meyers quipped during Wednesday night's episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 4 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Quip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quip. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quip
1 of 2 nounquip
2 of 2 verb
