chip

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

Examples of chip in a Sentence

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

Still, forecasters say the recent rain has only begun to chip away at a much larger long-term rainfall deficit, which at its worst was about 17 inches for the region. —Nora O'Neill, Charlotte Observer, 28 May 2026

As the business scaled, decisions that drove efficiency started to chip away at the experience that made the brand special. —Kevin O'Neill, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

Fundamentally, slower sales and rising competition have chipped away at Lululemon's once dominant position in athleisure. —Jay Woods, CNBC, 28 May 2026

This causes these types of toilet seats to wear out quickly, as the finish tends to chip off, the seams start to split, and moisture finds its way inside. —Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 25 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

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 on one's shoulder
• 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