plural chips
1
a
: a small usually thin and flat piece (as of wood or stone) cut, struck, or flaked off
b
: a small piece of food: such as
(1)
: a small, thin, crisp, usually salty piece of food typically prepared by frying, baking, or drying
banana chips
especially
: potato chip see also corn chip
(2)
(3)
: a small often cone-shaped bit of food often used for baking
chocolate chips
c
: a small card displaying a paint color or a range of paint colors available for purchase
fabric swatches and paint chips
2
: something small, worthless, or trivial
3
a
: one of the counters used as a token for money in poker and other games
b
chips plural
: money
—used especially in the phrase in the chips
The beginning was always characterized by careless haste in the expectation of landing in the chips, …—
William Kittredge
William Kittredge
c
: something valuable that can be used for advantage in negotiation or trade
a bargaining chip
4
: a piece of dried dung
—usually used in combination
cow chip
5
: a flaw left after a chip has been broken off
6
b
: a small wafer of semiconductor material that forms the base for an integrated circuit
8
: microarray
DNA chips
chipped; chipping
1
a
: to cut or hew with an edged tool
b(1)
: to cut or break (a small piece) from something
(2)
: to cut or break a fragment from
chip a tooth
(3)
: to cut into chips
chip a tree stump
3
: to hit (a return in tennis) with backspin
Examples of chip in a Sentence
Noun
The cup has a chip in it.
wood chips were spread over the ground between the plants
Verb
I bit into something hard and chipped my tooth.
He fell and chipped a bone in his knee.
The paint had chipped off.
He chipped away the ice from the car's windshield.
The sculptor chipped away bits of stone.
The golfer chipped the ball onto the green.
She chipped the soccer ball over the goalie's head.
He chipped a pass to his teammate.
The golfer chipped onto the green.
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Recent Examples on the WebEmma Roth, The Verge, 13 Sep. 2023
Butterscotch chips: For additional sweetness, color, and texture.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2023
There’s no chip on my shoulder, no grudge against anyone over there.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2023
Apple has openly talked about making its own communications chips, which translate cell signals into data and voice calls and are only made by a handful of companies.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2023
The Pro models get a beefed up processor—Apple’s A17 Pro chip—which the company says gets faster performance and better battery life.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023
The phones also include a new chip that the company says will improve location tracking and other tasks in the Find My app.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
The basic models are also getting a faster chip used in last year’s Pro and Pro Max models, while the next generation of the premium iPhone 15s will run on an even more advanced processor.
—Michael Liedtke, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2023
But the war over chip dominance is one small part of the overall struggle for AI dominance, for which the Pentagon believes an AI fleet could play a significant part in tipping the balance.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 9 Sep. 2023
Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
And that was what was chipping off was elements that were heavier than uranium, that—hence they were called transuranics.
—Ashraya Gupta, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2023
The windows of the home, owned by PMP 51 Avalon, LLC, are boarded-up, parts of the porch stairs are missing and paint on the porch railing is chipped.
—Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 2 Sep. 2023
The spotlight on horse-racing fatalities, which is chipping away at the sport’s long-term viability, has now shifted to New York’s signature summer meeting at Saratoga Race Course, where two more horses died over the weekend, bringing the toll to seven in less than a month.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2023
The Patriots bowed their back in the second quarter, chipping the deficit to 14-13.
—Ledeai, Journal Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2023
The best top coats of 2023 not only protect the polish underneath from getting chipped or tarnished, but also prevent color fade, add shine, and protect the nail overall.
—Izzi Friedman, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Aug. 2023
His strategy of painting political rivals as illegitimate and un-American has—for the better part of a decade—chipped away at social and democratic norms that titans of jurisprudence have—for more than a century—called indispensable to a functioning democracy.
—Dell Cameron, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023
The improvements in reading scores were evident across most groups, data show, but proficiency rates still lag after a pandemic that chipped away at earlier progress.
—Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
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Noun
Both are powered by the A17 Pro chip, which Apple says has the fastest performance in any smartphone and can even challenge some high-end PCs.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 13 Sep. 2023
Butterscotch chips: For additional sweetness, color, and texture.
—Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 13 Sep. 2023
There’s no chip on my shoulder, no grudge against anyone over there.
—Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2023
Apple has openly talked about making its own communications chips, which translate cell signals into data and voice calls and are only made by a handful of companies.
—Alan Murray, Fortune, 12 Sep. 2023
The Pro models get a beefed up processor—Apple’s A17 Pro chip—which the company says gets faster performance and better battery life.
—Boone Ashworth, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023
The phones also include a new chip that the company says will improve location tracking and other tasks in the Find My app.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
The basic models are also getting a faster chip used in last year’s Pro and Pro Max models, while the next generation of the premium iPhone 15s will run on an even more advanced processor.
—Michael Liedtke, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Sep. 2023
But the war over chip dominance is one small part of the overall struggle for AI dominance, for which the Pentagon believes an AI fleet could play a significant part in tipping the balance.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 9 Sep. 2023
Verb
Coated metal could potentially rust or have the paint chipped if left outside for extended periods of time.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 7 Sep. 2023
And that was what was chipping off was elements that were heavier than uranium, that—hence they were called transuranics.
—Ashraya Gupta, Scientific American, 7 Sep. 2023
The windows of the home, owned by PMP 51 Avalon, LLC, are boarded-up, parts of the porch stairs are missing and paint on the porch railing is chipped.
—Nushrat Rahman, Detroit Free Press, 2 Sep. 2023
The spotlight on horse-racing fatalities, which is chipping away at the sport’s long-term viability, has now shifted to New York’s signature summer meeting at Saratoga Race Course, where two more horses died over the weekend, bringing the toll to seven in less than a month.
—John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2023
The Patriots bowed their back in the second quarter, chipping the deficit to 14-13.
—Ledeai, Journal Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2023
The best top coats of 2023 not only protect the polish underneath from getting chipped or tarnished, but also prevent color fade, add shine, and protect the nail overall.
—Izzi Friedman, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Aug. 2023
His strategy of painting political rivals as illegitimate and un-American has—for the better part of a decade—chipped away at social and democratic norms that titans of jurisprudence have—for more than a century—called indispensable to a functioning democracy.
—Dell Cameron, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023
The improvements in reading scores were evident across most groups, data show, but proficiency rates still lag after a pandemic that chipped away at earlier progress.
—Lauren Lumpkin, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English; akin to Old English -cippian
Verb
Middle English chippen, from Old English -cippian (as in forcippian to cut off); akin to Old English cipp beam, Old High German chipfa stave
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of chip was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing chip
Dictionary Entries Near chip
Cite this Entry
“Chip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chip. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
chip
1 of 2 noun1
: a small thin flat piece (as of wood, stone, or glass) broken off : flake
2
3
a
: a counter used in poker
b
plural
: money sense 1c
in the chips
4
: a flaw left after a small piece has been broken off
a cup with a chip in it
5
: a very small slice of silicon containing electronic circuits (as for a computer)
chip
2 of 2 verb
chipped; chipping
1
: to cut or break a chip from something
chip a cup
2
: to break off in small pieces
Medical Definition
chip
noun
: microarray
When exposed to a sample of unknown DNA, the probes on the chip bind to their complementary strands, thereby reading the sequences in the sample.—Jeff Wheelwright, Discover
Jeff Wheelwright, Discover
More from Merriam-Webster on chip
Nglish: Translation of chip for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of chip for Arabic Speakers
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