chip

1 of 2

noun

ˈchip 

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)

: french fry

(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

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

a

: integrated circuit

b

: a small wafer of semiconductor material that forms the base for an integrated circuit

7

: chip shot sense 1

8

: microarray

DNA chips

chip

2 of 2

verb

chipped; chipping

transitive verb

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

2

British : chaff, banter

3

: to hit (a return in tennis) with backspin

intransitive verb

1

: to break off in small pieces

2

: to play a chip shot

Phrases

chip off the old block

: a child that resembles his or her parent

chip on one's shoulder

: a challenging or belligerent attitude

Synonyms

Noun

• flake
• sliver
• spall
• splint
• splinter

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Both men’s and women’s finals last year had a 3-2 score, and Auburn clinched the men’s title when a chip on the 17th hole by Florida State’s Luke Clanton rolled into the cup and popped out. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 May 2025

Bringing chip production to the country, however, has been a difficult and lengthy process. —Dylan Butts, CNBC, 15 May 2025

Verb

But for Norman Wong, who has watched from afar as the Trump administration has tried to chip away at the right his great-grandfather helped enshrine, the case's ascent to the Supreme Court is a troubling sign of how the courts may not balance potential overreaches by Trump. —Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 15 May 2025

Caddies, like most other chiefs of staff, have multiple responsibilities, from keeping score to the more mundane, such as carrying the golfers’ equipment, keeping the clubs clean, and raking the sand to restore the contours of a bunker after their golfer chips out of a sand trap. —Julia Dhar, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025

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

Phrases Containing chip

• bargaining chip
• blue chip
• chip in
• chip off the old block
• chip shop
• chip shot
• chocolate chip cookie
• corn chip
• have a chip on one's shoulder
• kettle chip
• potato chip
• tortilla chip
• V-chip
• white chip

Rhymes for chip

• blip
• clip
• dip
• drip
• flip
• grip
• grippe
• hip
• ip
• kip
• lip
• nip

Kids Definition

chip

1 of 2 noun

ˈchip 

1

: a small thin flat piece (as of wood, stone, or glass) broken off : flake

2

: a small piece of food

chocolate chip

: as

a

: potato chip

b

: french fry entry 1

fish and chips

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

ˈchip 

: 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