1
: a trace on a display screen (such as an oscilloscope)
especially
: a spot on a radar screen
2
: a short crisp sound
3
: an interruption of the sound received in a radio or television program or occurring in a recording as a result of blipping
4
: a transient sharp movement up or down (as of a quantity commonly shown on a graph)
5
: something relatively small or inconsequential within a larger context
made only a blip on the political scene
blipped; blipping
: to remove (recorded sound) from a recording so that there is an interruption of the sound in the reproduction
a censor blipped the swear words
Examples of blip in a Sentence
Noun
The approaching ship appeared as a blip on the screen.
the blips, buzzes, and bleeps of a video game
The company's financial problems were just a temporary blip.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Leonhardt, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The challenge for Tiger will be to convince those LPs that the blip of the past couple of years will turn out to be a smudge on their track record, instead of a gaping hole.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2023
Hit it again, and suddenly that solar system is a blip in a sea of star systems.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2023
How quickly a fix can be found will likely determine whether last year’s slump was a blip or a trend.
—Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023
The recent downturn in the professional class’ fortunes is just a blip against a backdrop of stagnating wages for the lower and middle classes and staggering gains for the top 10% that has continued for over four decades.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2023
But the study’s experts predict that 2022 may just be a blip in the overall projection for wealth growth.
—Time, 15 Aug. 2023
This drop is barely a blip in percentage terms, of course, and could simply reflect heavy selling pressure in response to the Huobi events.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 7 Aug. 2023
Still, this blip did little to damage the market’s ascent.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 28 July 2023
Time, 22 June 2023
Shake that features a shimmery, blipping pop backdrop.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2023
With a Final Four berth on the line, Gallegos viewed a patchy livestream of the taut Aztecs-Creighton game … until the screen blipped out.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2023
With it off, the additional footwork required to blip the revs yourself feels more natural, though not as consistent.
—Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 21 Nov. 2022
Earlier this year, the transponders that will blip data back to Earth were found to be faulty and had to be repaired.
—Quanta Magazine, 3 Dec. 2021
The little black and white boxes that blip into view are telemetry blocks – an artifact from compressing the image and sending it back down to Earth.
—Mike Wehner, BGR, 17 May 2021
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that inflation may blip up a bit, due to the economy’s reopening, then settle down.
—Larry Light, Forbes, 15 May 2021
And as independent filmmakers blipped off the map, acting roles for women became few and far between, while producing and directing roles all but disappeared.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2020
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Noun
But there are reasons to wonder whether the past year was a blip.
—David Leonhardt, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023
The challenge for Tiger will be to convince those LPs that the blip of the past couple of years will turn out to be a smudge on their track record, instead of a gaping hole.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2023
Hit it again, and suddenly that solar system is a blip in a sea of star systems.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2023
How quickly a fix can be found will likely determine whether last year’s slump was a blip or a trend.
—Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2023
The recent downturn in the professional class’ fortunes is just a blip against a backdrop of stagnating wages for the lower and middle classes and staggering gains for the top 10% that has continued for over four decades.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2023
But the study’s experts predict that 2022 may just be a blip in the overall projection for wealth growth.
—Time, 15 Aug. 2023
This drop is barely a blip in percentage terms, of course, and could simply reflect heavy selling pressure in response to the Huobi events.
—Jeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 7 Aug. 2023
Still, this blip did little to damage the market’s ascent.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 28 July 2023
Verb
In Avengers: Infinity War, he got blipped (snapped? dusted?) with half of the world’s population after Thanos gained all six Infinity Stones.
—Time, 22 June 2023
Shake that features a shimmery, blipping pop backdrop.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2023
With a Final Four berth on the line, Gallegos viewed a patchy livestream of the taut Aztecs-Creighton game … until the screen blipped out.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2023
With it off, the additional footwork required to blip the revs yourself feels more natural, though not as consistent.
—Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 21 Nov. 2022
Earlier this year, the transponders that will blip data back to Earth were found to be faulty and had to be repaired.
—Quanta Magazine, 3 Dec. 2021
The little black and white boxes that blip into view are telemetry blocks – an artifact from compressing the image and sending it back down to Earth.
—Mike Wehner, BGR, 17 May 2021
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that inflation may blip up a bit, due to the economy’s reopening, then settle down.
—Larry Light, Forbes, 15 May 2021
And as independent filmmakers blipped off the map, acting roles for women became few and far between, while producing and directing roles all but disappeared.
—Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2020
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'blip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Blip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blip. Accessed 26 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
blip
nounˈblip
: a spot on a screen
a radar blip
More from Merriam-Webster on blip
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for blip
Britannica English: Translation of blip for Arabic Speakers
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