pip

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈpip 

1

a

: a disorder of a bird marked by formation of a scale or crust on the tongue

b

: the scale or crust of this disorder

2

a

: any of various human ailments

especially : a slight nonspecific disorder

b

chiefly British : a feeling of irritation or annoyance

pip

2 of 6

verb (1)

pipped; pipping

intransitive verb

1

: peep entry 1 sense 1

2

: to break through the shell of the egg

the chick pipped

transitive verb

: to break open (the shell of an egg) in hatching

pip

3 of 6

noun (2)

1

a

: one of the dots used on dice and dominoes to indicate numerical value

b

: spot sense 2c

2

a

: spot, speck entry 1

b

: spike entry 1 sense 6a

also : blip

3

: an individual rootstock of the lily of the valley

4

: a diamond-shaped insignia of rank worn by a second lieutenant, lieutenant, or captain in the British army

pip

4 of 6

noun (3)

1

: a small fruit seed

especially : one of a several-seeded fleshy fruit

2

: one extraordinary of its kind

pip

5 of 6

verb (2)

pipped; pipping

transitive verb

British

: to beat by a narrow margin

pip

6 of 6

noun (4)

chiefly British

: a short high-pitched tone

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• aggravation
• aggro [British]
• annoyance
• bother
• botheration
• exasperation
• frustration
• grief
• irritation
• vexation

Verb (1)

• cheep
• chirp
• chirrup
• chitter
• jargon
• peep
• pipe
• tweet
• twitter

Noun (2)

• blotch
• dapple
• dot
• eyespot
• fleck
• mottle
• patch
• point
• speck
• speckle
• splotch
• spot

Noun (3)

• beaut
• beauty
• bee's knees
• cat's meow
• corker
• crackerjack
• crackajack
• daisy
• dandy
• dilly
• doozy
• doozie
• doozer
• dream
• honey
• hot stuff
• humdinger
• hummer
• jim-dandy
• knockout
• lollapalooza
• lulu [slang]
• nifty
• peach
• pippin
• ripper
• ripsnorter
• snorter
• sockdolager
• sockdologer
• standout
• sweetheart

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Love, your resident pip with pizzazz. —Town & Country, 2 Mar. 2023

Our heroes are the usually unnamed and unsung crew members with but a single lone pip on their collars who show up when senior officers have delegated out their tasks and moved on to the next interesting thing. —Kate Cox, Ars Technica, 5 Aug. 2020

Verb

That will be no easy trick given the Raiders got a hotel tax increase to foot $725 million of Allegiant Stadium and owner Mark Davis is reportedly pipping hot mad at the idea of the A’s moving in just over a mile away. —Maury Brown, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English pippe, from Middle Dutch (akin to Old High German pfiffīz), from Vulgar Latin *pipita, alteration of Latin pituita phlegm, pip; perhaps akin to Greek pitys pine — more at pine

Verb (1)

imitative

Noun (2)

origin unknown

Noun (3)

short for pippin

Verb (2)

probably from pip to blackball, from pip entry 3 or pip entry 4

Noun (4)

imitative

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

1598, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun (3)

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1880, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

1907, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pip

• pip-squeak
• pip-pip

• pip-squeak
• pip-pip

Kids Definition

pip

1 of 3 verb

ˈpip 

pipped; pipping

1

: to break through the shell of the egg in hatching

2

: to be broken by a pipping bird

eggs starting to pip

pip

2 of 3 noun

1

: a dot or spot (as on dice or playing cards) that indicates numerical value

2

: blip

pip

3 of 3 noun

1

: a small fruit seed

apple pips

2

: something very good of its kind

Etymology

Verb

imitative word

Noun

origin unknown

Noun

a shortened form of pippin "a kind of apple"

Medical Definition

pip

noun

ˈpip 

: the formation of a scale or crust on the tip and dorsal surface of the tongue of a bird often associated with respiratory diseases

also : the scale or crust itself