chip

noun

\ ˈchip

plural chips

Definition of chip

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

3a : 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

6a : 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 off the old block

: a child that resembles his or her parent

chip on one's shoulder

: a challenging or belligerent attitude

chip

verb

chipped; chipping

Definition of chip (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about chip

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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

Industrial, financial and energy stocks, including Boeing Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corp., have powered the blue-chip stock index higher for nine consecutive weeks—the longest such winning streak since 1995. — Amrith Ramkumar, WSJ, "Resurgence in Cyclical Stocks Pushes Dow Industrials Toward New High," 24 Feb. 2019 After all, the glitzy Florida resort town is known for drawing in billionaires, movie stars, and even heads of state thanks to its picturesque beaches, blue-chip real estate, and swirling social scene. — Adam Rathe, Town & Country, "Palm Beach's Norton Museum Gets a Renovation by Norman Foster," 5 Feb. 2019 Plus, getting wood chips is easier to ship and store than propane tanks or charcoal. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, "5 Best Pellet Grills to Buy in 2019, According to Kitchen Appliance and Tech Experts," 27 Feb. 2019 The first wave of 5G-capable phones will include Qualcomm’s 855 processor paired with the company’s separate X50 5G modem chip. — Mark Hachman, PCWorld, "Qualcomm's next Snapdragon chip suggests 2020 really will be the year of 5G phones," 25 Feb. 2019 The reason: The device uses parts from HiSilicon, the chip division of Huawei Technologies Co. — Mark Bergen, The Seattle Times, "Huawei is blocked in U.S., but its chips power security cameras everywhere," 28 Jan. 2019 Computer chips are made up of billions of transistors that switch the flow of electricity on and off in microscopic wires. — Eric Smalley, Discover Magazine, "Cellular Cyborgs: How Programmable DNA Strands Might Control Healing," 25 Sep. 2018 Prices: Sandwiches, $3.25-$6.25; toppings on Italian beef sandwiches, $.80-$.90; nachos, $4.75; chips and popcorn, $1-$2. — Myrna Petlicki, Lake County News-Sun, "Guide to outdoor dining in Chicago suburbs: Dockside Dogs in Waukegan," 10 July 2018 At her San Francisco Atelier Crenn and Petit Crenn, chef Dominique Crenn makes seaweed broth, seaweed chips, and powdered seaweed and cooks fish wrapped in seaweed. — Tamar Adler, Vogue, "Is Seaweed the Perfect Food?," 15 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Wikipedia community members have been slowly chipping away at the problem too, restoring 3 million links on their own accord, bringing the tally to a cool 9 million. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Millions of Old, Broken Wikipedia Links Have Been Brought Back to Life," 2 Oct. 2018 In his finest moments, Redford’s characterizations have intently chipped away at the archetypal white, male cinematic hero to reveal something angrier, sadder, and altogether less heroic. — Marley Marius, Vogue, "An Ode to Robert Redford, on What May Be His Retirement From Acting," 25 Sep. 2018 Giroud then chipped it for Mbappe to easily tap it past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. — BostonGlobe.com, "France eliminates Peru, advances to Round of 16," 21 June 2018 Wisconsin chipped it back to a two-point game before Bridges hit a hook shot with 3:31 remaining to stem the Badgers’ momentum. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan State tackles 'just another obstacle,' outright Big Ten title," 25 Feb. 2018 Max Wix, a 15-year-old from D.C., busted his braces and chipped a tooth on a downhill ride. — Kaylen Ralph, Teen Vogue, "Teen "Scooter Outlaws" Are Getting Busted on Shareable Scooters," 24 Sep. 2018 Paint chipped and concrete crumbling away, the former circuit is an important nod to the past or automotive and motorsports. — Mara Balagtas, Condé Nast Traveler, "Great Drives: A European Tour in a Maserati Levante," 13 July 2018 More: Indianapolis Indians lose two of three to Durham Bulls The Clippers led 7-0 after two innings, and Indians' starter Mitch Keller would last just two and two-thirds innings with eight earned runs on 10 hits, but the Indians kept chipping away. — Jordan Guskey, Indianapolis Star, "Walk-off home run spoils Indianapolis Indians' comeback attempt," 30 June 2018 Earlier: Louisville baseball survives to reach NCAA rematch with Texas Tech Thanks to the two early blasts, the drama level remained low-level for much of the night, and when Louisville (45-19) was poised to chip away, misfortune struck. — Randy Rosetta, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville baseball eliminated from NCAAs with loss to Texas Tech," 3 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for chip

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

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Dictionary Entries near chip

Statistics for chip

Last Updated

20 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for chip

The first known use of chip was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for chip

chip

noun

English Language Learners Definition of chip

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a small piece that has been broken off from something larger

: a place where a small piece of something has broken off

: a small piece of candy or chocolate used in baking

chip

verb

English Language Learners Definition of chip (Entry 2 of 2)

: to break off a small piece from (something)

: to break or come off in small pieces

: to break off (something) especially with a tool

See the full definition for chip in the English Language Learners Dictionary

chip

noun

\ ˈchip

Kids Definition of chip

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a small piece cut or broken off wood chips a chip of glass

2 : a thin crisp piece of food and especially potato tortilla chips

3 : a small bit of candy used in baking chocolate chips

4 : a flaw left after a small piece has been broken off There's a chip in the rim of that cup.

5 : integrated circuit

6 : a small slice of silicon containing a number of electronic circuits (as for a computer)

chip

verb

chipped; chipping

Kids Definition of chip (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to cut or break a small piece from I fell and chipped my tooth.

2 : to break off in small pieces We chipped the ice from the windshield.

chip

noun

\ ˈchip

Medical Definition of chip

: 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, April 2002