1
: either of two fleshy folds that surround the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and are organs of human speech essential to certain articulations
also
: the red or pinkish margin of the human lip
2
slang
: back talk
3
4
a
: the edge of a hollow vessel or cavity
b
: a projecting edge: such as
(1)
: the beveled upper edge of the mouth of an organ flue pipe
(2)
: the sharp cutting edge on the end of a tool (such as an auger)
(3)
: a short spout (as on a pitcher)
c
5
lipped; lipping
1
: to touch with the lips
especially
: kiss
2
: utter
3
: to lap against : lick
4
: to hit (a putt) so that the ball hits the edge of the cup but fails to drop in
—usually used with out
: to hit the edge of the cup without dropping in
—used with out
the putt lipped out
Synonyms
Examples of lip in a Sentence
Noun
He had a cut on his lip.
She was nervously biting her lip.
the lips of a wound
the lip of a crater
the lip of a pitcher
Adjective
part of the ritual of the awards ceremony is the nominee's lip praise for the performances of his or her competitors
Verb
the waves, reflecting the red glow of the sunset, gently lipped the prow
Recent Examples on the Web
Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 7 Apr. 2024
Pomegranate and açai, superfruits with antioxidant properties that can fight damage at the cellular level, help reduce inflammation (and smell nice) while a combo of mango butter, argan oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter hydrate delicate skin on both your lips and nips.
—Macaela MacKenzie, Allure, 5 Apr. 2024
Eventually Whaley hopes that the inmates can package the honey to sell at local stores as well as items made with the beeswax including lip balms, candles, soaps and more.
—Alicia Devine, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Emir Perez of the Marshals Service later recalled in court that at the time of her arrest, her lips were swollen and a bandage covered her nose.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In a nearby dressing room, filled with costumes on racks and wigs on shelves, Byers adheres false eyelashes, coats her lips with a deep burgundy lipstick and adjusts her wig.
—Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2018, on tour in Japan, Ott began to experience health problems, feeling some numbness in her lips and later having difficulty walking.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
The short clip featured the perfect soundtrack — an innocuously seductive hip-hop beat — as Fripp caressed the neck of his six-string, licked his lips, and made faces that struck a perfect balance between smoldering and stupefied.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
Halina, the youngest, sporting a bold red lip and an annoying naiveté, goes to collect her older brother Addy (Logan Lerman) from the train station.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024
What are lip flip side effects and risks? Unlike with traditional lip fillers, lip flip treatments have minimal side effects and no major downtime.
—Ana Escalante, Glamour, 6 Nov. 2023
The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.
35.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2023
From hydrating serums to the latest in lip colors, these are the fall beauty essentials that deserve a spot in your cart.
—Poppy Morgan, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
When overused, lip plumper can cause cracking, drying, and even splitting of the lips.
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 25 May 2023
The Lip Bar is joining the lot with its first-ever, non-lip product, a bronzer-blush duo called Fresh Glow.
—Gabi Thorne, Allure, 15 Sep. 2020
Turns out, post-lip augmentation dryness is a strange phenomenon that people don't seem to tell their dermatologists about.
—Devon Abelman, Allure, 10 Sep. 2020
Morrison told Fox News that the man's lip size, and the height and width of his mouth were accurately recreated by measuring the enamel of the skeleton's teeth.
—Fox News, 29 May 2020
Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024
So did Finau, whose 61-foot eagle putt lipped out on the par-5 finishing hole, leaving him with a tap-in birdie.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Jan. 2024
Her makeup, as always, was perfect, her lips a deep plum.
—Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship’s second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2023
Frequently Asked Questions How does lip plumper work?
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 25 May 2023
There were approach shots that fell short and putts that lipped out.
—Christine Brennan, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
Downes had just lipped out a short par putt on the previous hole, allowing Naumec, who made par, to tie the match after being 4-down earlier.
—Matt Doherty, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2023
This drugstore lip plumper, which offers a sparkly, sheer wash of color, is infused with menthol, which has a cooling and tingling effect.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Allure, 18 June 2023
Noun
Instead of going over the top with her glam, Moore opted to let her dress do the talking with a minimal makeup, bar some rosy blush and touch of pink on her lips.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 7 Apr. 2024
Pomegranate and açai, superfruits with antioxidant properties that can fight damage at the cellular level, help reduce inflammation (and smell nice) while a combo of mango butter, argan oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and shea butter hydrate delicate skin on both your lips and nips.
—Macaela MacKenzie, Allure, 5 Apr. 2024
Eventually Whaley hopes that the inmates can package the honey to sell at local stores as well as items made with the beeswax including lip balms, candles, soaps and more.
—Alicia Devine, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Emir Perez of the Marshals Service later recalled in court that at the time of her arrest, her lips were swollen and a bandage covered her nose.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
In a nearby dressing room, filled with costumes on racks and wigs on shelves, Byers adheres false eyelashes, coats her lips with a deep burgundy lipstick and adjusts her wig.
—Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2018, on tour in Japan, Ott began to experience health problems, feeling some numbness in her lips and later having difficulty walking.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
The short clip featured the perfect soundtrack — an innocuously seductive hip-hop beat — as Fripp caressed the neck of his six-string, licked his lips, and made faces that struck a perfect balance between smoldering and stupefied.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024
Halina, the youngest, sporting a bold red lip and an annoying naiveté, goes to collect her older brother Addy (Logan Lerman) from the train station.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Adjective
Also, lip skin is thinner, making blood vessels more apparent.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2024
What are lip flip side effects and risks? Unlike with traditional lip fillers, lip flip treatments have minimal side effects and no major downtime.
—Ana Escalante, Glamour, 6 Nov. 2023
The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.
35.
—Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2023
From hydrating serums to the latest in lip colors, these are the fall beauty essentials that deserve a spot in your cart.
—Poppy Morgan, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
When overused, lip plumper can cause cracking, drying, and even splitting of the lips.
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 25 May 2023
The Lip Bar is joining the lot with its first-ever, non-lip product, a bronzer-blush duo called Fresh Glow.
—Gabi Thorne, Allure, 15 Sep. 2020
Turns out, post-lip augmentation dryness is a strange phenomenon that people don't seem to tell their dermatologists about.
—Devon Abelman, Allure, 10 Sep. 2020
Morrison told Fox News that the man's lip size, and the height and width of his mouth were accurately recreated by measuring the enamel of the skeleton's teeth.
—Fox News, 29 May 2020
Verb
Schauffele had a chance for a share of second, but his birdie putt at 18 lipped out.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024
So did Finau, whose 61-foot eagle putt lipped out on the par-5 finishing hole, leaving him with a tap-in birdie.
—Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Jan. 2024
Her makeup, as always, was perfect, her lips a deep plum.
—Jenisha Watts, The Atlantic, 13 Sep. 2023
Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship’s second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2023
Frequently Asked Questions How does lip plumper work?
—Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 25 May 2023
There were approach shots that fell short and putts that lipped out.
—Christine Brennan, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
Downes had just lipped out a short par putt on the previous hole, allowing Naumec, who made par, to tie the match after being 4-down earlier.
—Matt Doherty, BostonGlobe.com, 14 July 2023
This drugstore lip plumper, which offers a sparkly, sheer wash of color, is infused with menthol, which has a cooling and tingling effect.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Allure, 18 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to lip
Dictionary Entries Near lip
Cite this Entry
“Lip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lip. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lip
1 of 2 noun1
: either of the two fleshy folds that surround the mouth
2
slang
: back talk sense 3
3
a
: a fleshy edge or margin
lips of a wound
b
: a part or structure of a plant or animal that resembles a lip (as the protruding part of an orchid's corolla)
4
: the edge of a hollow container especially where it is slightly spread out
lip
2 of 2 adjective
: spoken with the lips only : not sincere
lip service
Medical Definition
lip
noun1
: either of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and in humans are organs of speech essential to certain articulations
also
: the pinkish or reddish margin of a human lip composed of nonglandular mucous membrane and usually exposed when the mouth takes on its natural set
2
: an edge of a wound
3
: either of a pair of fleshy folds surrounding an orifice
4
: an anatomical part or structure (as a labium) resembling a lip
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