pip

1 of 6

noun (1)

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
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
2
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

Examples of pip in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
One of the basic ones was a computer-vision model that could detect the dominoes that were on the table, tell you their orientation, and then tell you how many pips were on each domino: one, five, six, or whatever. IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2022 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
Steers had expected Day 38 or 39 to be when pipping might occur. Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 But that particular prize went to the public vote and Clooney was pipped to the post by Emma Watson. Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 4 Dec. 2023 France was originally intended to be the destination for King Charles’s first overseas visit as monarch, but the country was pipped to the post by Germany after a trip to Paris and Bordeaux was postponed back in March. Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 6 Sep. 2023 While the pipping hot tea about Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett posing for pix at the HSMTMTS premiere typically goes down inside the GC, the fun doesn't stop there. Kori Williams, Seventeen, 7 July 2023 The baby tortoise pipped (cracked open) its egg on April 10 and emerged on April 12. Brittany Truong, USA TODAY, 28 June 2023 Barbs at the second-place club in the English Premier League aside (Manchester City pipped them to the title), Gallagher will not have much free time in the months ahead. Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 25 May 2023 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

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of pip was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near pip

Cite this Entry

“Pip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pip. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pip

1 of 3 verb
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
: 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

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