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)

• frustration
• irritation
• grief
• exasperation
• annoyance
• displeasure

Verb (1)

• chirp

Noun (2)

• fleck
• patch
• dot
• speck
• blotch

Noun (3)

• peach
• beauty
• dream
• pippin
• something else
• doozer
• wonder
• ripper
• marvel
• daisy
• sockdologer
• snorter
• phenomenon
• corker
• lulu [slang]
• beaut
• gem
• ripsnorter
• crackajack
• hot stuff
• sweetheart

Examples of pip in a Sentence

Noun (1)

listening to all that chat show blather gives me the pip

Verb (1)

baby birds pipping loudly in their nest

Noun (2)

a black horse with white pips

Noun (3)

that new sports car is a real pip

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With no 6 pips dominoes, my best guess was this would need four 5 pip tiles and one 4 pip tile to complete. —Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Eaglets make a pip — or a crack in the egg — as the chick hatches. —Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 7 Mar. 2025

Another pip – that initial crack of an eggshell as a chick begins to hatch – was reported in a second egg Tuesday as Jackie and Shadow took turns carefully watching the hatchling’s progress. —Devyn Byers, CNN, 5 Mar. 2025

Bald Eagle Livestream Viewership of the nest cam ramped up with news of the pips. —Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025

Verb

Although they were pipped to the post in the international category at the 2025 Brit Awards, winners D.C. —Lars Brandle, Billboard, 26 Aug. 2025

Strengthening on the wing has been a top priority for Everton this summer, but they were pipped to the signings of top targets Francisco Conceicao and Johan Bakayoko by Juventus and RB Leipzig respectively. —Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2025

The McLarens took first and second in qualifying, with an amazing lap by Charles Leclerc that pipped Verstappen to third place by 3 milliseconds. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025

The Under Armour veteran was pipped to the position after a similar CEO hunt following Amina Razvi’s departure after eight years in December 2023, a few months before the organization’s rebranding. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 July 2025

He was pipped on two occasions by a solitary point to the title by Liverpool's North West rivals in what was the highest-quality rivalry in the competition's history. —Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024

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-pip
• pip-squeak

Rhymes for pip

• blip
• chip
• clip
• dip
• drip
• flip
• grip
• grippe
• hip
• ip
• kip
• lip

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