flip

\ ˈflip

flipped; flipping

Definition of flip

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : to toss so as to cause to turn over in the air flip a coin flip a pancake also : toss flip me the ball flip one end of the scarf over your shoulder

2a : to cause to turn and especially to turn over flipped the car flipping the pages of a book

b : to move with a small quick motion flip a switch

c : to turn (something) on or off with a switch flip on/off the lights

d : to change or move through (channels, stations, etc.) quickly flipping channels with the remote control

3 : to buy and usually renovate (real estate) so as to quickly resell at a higher price He's flipped three houses for a substantial profit.

4 : to cause or persuade (a witness) to cooperate in prosecuting a criminal case against an associate … wrote that the … probe seemed to have reached the stage where investigators are in the process of flipping witnesses.— Nancy LeTourneau

intransitive verb

1 : to make a twitching or flicking movement the fish flipped and flopped on the deck

2a : to turn or roll from one side to the other : turn over The crab had flipped onto its back. The car flipped over.

b : to do a somersault in the air : to do a flip He flipped off the diving board.

3a : to change from one state, position, subject, etc., to another The job market flipped from hot to cold. The commercial flipped back and forth between scenes of country life and city life.

b : to change or move through channels, pages, etc. He sat on the couch flipping through the channels. flip to another station flip through the pages of a magazine

c : to cooperate in the prosecution of a criminal case against an associate Before sentencing, two more members defected…. And, soon after receiving his 45-year sentence in May 1989, Leonetti flipped, too.— Marguerite Del Giudice

4 slang

a : to lose one's mind or composure —often used with outThe patient flipped out in manic behavior.She flipped out when she heard about her son's accident.

b : to become very enthusiastic

flip the script

informal

: to achieve an outcome or adopt an approach that is opposite to or completely different from what has happened or been done previously Now, having won three of the last nine majors, Mickelson has flipped the script on Woods.— Alan Shipnuck … the chance to flip the script, to go from 0-6 with a chance to finish the second half of the year 5-1, is motivating Nebraska players this week.— Steve Batterson If you let your inner critic do all the talking, of course she's going to chip away at your self-esteem. Make a conscious choice to flip the script for the next week and see how dramatically it alters your outlook.— Petra Guglielmetti

flip

noun

Definition of flip (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a mixed drink usually consisting of a sweetened spiced liquor with beaten eggs

2 : an act or instance of flipping

3 : the motion used in flipping

4 : a somersault especially in the air

5 : a holder for a collectible coin made of vinyl or cardboard with a plastic window and often having a sleeve in which to place an identifying insert

flip

adjective

Definition of flip (Entry 3 of 3)

: flippant, impertinent

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about flip

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of flip in a Sentence

Verb She was sitting in the waiting room, flipping the pages of a magazine. His car flipped over on the interstate. Noun the flip of a coin She turned on the lights with the flip of a switch. Adjective made some flip comment about the marriage between the old man and the considerably younger woman

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb With the game tied 7-7, Garoppolo flipped a screen pass to Mostert who went untouched en route to a 39-yard score. — Eric Branch, SFChronicle.com, "49ers offense awakens in 41-17 romp over Bengals; Staley suffers broken leg," 15 Sep. 2019 Last year, the Democratic Party flipped seven congressional seats, including several in historically conservative Orange County, helping the party retake a majority in the House of Representatives. — Tim Arango, New York Times, "Trump Inspires California Lawmakers to Go on Offense," 14 Sep. 2019 By that time, Kitchen had flipped his schedule, working at WDA full-time and taking engineering classes at night. — David L. Craddock, Ars Technica, "How a basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600," 14 Sep. 2019 In a video shared by Kensington Palace of Prince George, 6, and Charlotte shaking hands with the head of the lower school, Helen Haslem, Kate Middleton flipped her daughter’s backpack around to reveal a sequined unicorn keychain attached to the bag. — Stephanie Petit, PEOPLE.com, "Prince William Says Princess Charlotte 'Loves' Unicorns After Her Cute Keychain Moment at School," 9 Sep. 2019 In the last week, YouTube has also flip-flopped on content decisions. — Kaya Yurieff, CNN, "YouTube says it's removing more hate speech than before but controversial channels remain up," 3 Sep. 2019 Then, the van veered toward a pickup truck, struck the edge, and flipped over, landing on its roof in the right lane of the highway. — oregonlive.com, "Driver captures video of van slamming into parked truck, then flipping over on I-205," 28 Aug. 2019 In the old days, mothers could have flipped through the family photo albums and seen endless snapshots of their children with dad, aunts and grandparents, but none with mom. — Sonja Haller, USA TODAY, "Chrissy Teigen laments being her family's 'designated photo taker.' Moms so relate," 25 Aug. 2019 From 1938 through 1987, these teams met annually, typically flip-flopping hosting duties between Miami and Gainesville with the occasional matchup in Jacksonville or Orlando. — Mitchell Gladstone, SI.com, "Four Storylines That Will Shape Florida and Miami's Week 0 Showdown," 23 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Wood also shared a photo of the look in which Hudgens is mid-hair flip with wave emojis as the caption. — Kaleigh Fasanella, Allure, "Vanessa Hudgens Just Got Waist-Length Hair Extensions for Fall," 13 Sep. 2019 Del Rio will get 1,000 toddler-size T-shirts, 1,700 youth-size T-shirts, 3,650 pairs of boys briefs, and 1,200 pairs of kids’ flip-flops. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "US Border Patrol is buying 1,000 more onesies for detained infants," 4 Sep. 2019 Never a fashionista, he was dedicated to casual couture, wearing flip-flops to Natural History Museum board meetings. — Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Tim Means, Baja California ecotourism pioneer, dies at the age of 75," 28 Aug. 2019 Still, after his latest round of talks with White House officials, Murphy seemed cautiously optimistic about President Trump's seriousness about gun safety, citing the president's recent flip-flops in messaging on guns. — Emily Tillett, CBS News, "Senator Chris Murphy "skeptical" gun reform talks with White House will "bear fruit"," 23 Aug. 2019 Criteria that an expert witness must meet under Florida law has been flip flopping since 2013 when lawmakers approved new stricter standards. — Tonya Alanez, sun-sentinel.com, "New trial ordered for driver serving 30 years for 2013 crash that killed five," 1 Aug. 2019 Even worse than a slow trot around the bases is an emphatic flip of the bat after hitting a home run. — Steve Gardner, USA TODAY, "From bat flips to bunts, baseball's 'unwritten rules' can be a challenge to navigate," 6 July 2019 Before a lap could be completed, the race was red-flagged for Jeff Scotto’s flip in Turn 3. — Antioch Speedway, The Mercury News, "Antioch Speedway: Chadwick takes first in Jerry Hetrick Memorial Race," 13 June 2019 When asked this spring why the team spent so little money, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts tried to be flip. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "Cubs add closer Craig Kimbrel and Dodgers get company in N.L. pennant race," 5 June 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Sneakers, mules, heels or yes, even flip flops, are all a go when modernizing the look. — Melissa Magsaysay, chicagotribune.com, "5 fall fashion trends to embrace — and make uniquely yours," 6 Sep. 2019 But today the wind patterns flip-flop between blowing eastward and westward. — Annie Sneed, Scientific American, "The Reason Antarctica Is Melting: Shifting Winds, Driven by Global Warming," 16 Aug. 2019 Among the thread’s purported throwbacks to days of yore are flip phones, DVD players, screen savers, (and DVD player screen savers), Razor scooters, iPods, and iMacs — all of which, like . . — Michael Andor Brodeur, BostonGlobe.com, "Not so distant memories, illegible letters, collective confusion, and more from the week online," 2 Aug. 2019 France and Manchester United midfielder Pogba may be a controversial figure on the pitch, but there is certainly nothing controversial about his bottle flip challenge attempt. — SI.com, "Bottle Cap Challenge: 6 of the Best Efforts So Far From Across the Football World," 7 July 2019 So now some tech manufacturers are creating luxury foldable smartphones, more advanced than their ancestor the flip phone, that can unfold into tablets. — Ahiza Garcia, CNN, "Why it's so hard to make a foldable smartphone," 26 June 2019 Ice Breakers Sugar-Free Mints Amazon customers are partial to the spicy-hot cinnamon, but these flip-top containers also dispense sour and fruity-minty options. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "The 8 Best Breath Mints to Carry Around With You All Day," 7 Dec. 2018 The Gaines' real estate firm, Magnolia Realty, helps families buy, sell, and even flip homes in several big cities in Texas through a team of 100+ real estate agents. — Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, "Wish You Could Have Been Featured on a 'Fixer Upper' Episode? Here's the Next Best Thing," 12 June 2018 Trump on the campaign trail called the unemployment rate phony, so these claims are flip-flops. — Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, "Anatomy of a Trump rally: 76 percent of claims are false, misleading or lacking evidence," 10 July 2018

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