plural chips
1
: a small piece that has been broken off from something larger
wood chips
chips of stone
2
: a place where a small piece of something has broken off
The cup has a chip in/on it.
3
: a small piece of candy or chocolate used in baking
chocolate chips
chocolate chip cookies [=cookies with small bits of chocolate in them]
4
a
: a thin, hard, and usually salty piece of food
tortilla chips
b
British
: french fry
5
: a small, flat, round piece of plastic that is used to represent an amount of money in gambling games like poker
6
: a very small piece of hard material (called silicon) in a computer or other device that contains many electronic circuits
computer/silicon chips
7
US, informal
: a piece of dried waste matter from an animal
buffalo/cow chips
chips; chipped; chipping
1
a
: to break off a small piece from (something)
I bit into something hard and chipped my tooth.
He fell and chipped a bone in his knee.
She chipped a nail. [=she broke a small piece of hardened nail polish off a fingernail]
a chipped cup/tooth
b
: to break or come off in small pieces
China chips easily.
The paint had chipped off/away.
2
a
always followed by an adverb or preposition
: to break off (something) especially with a tool
He chipped away the ice from the car's windshield.
The sculptor chipped away/off bits of stone.
The geologist chipped [=cut] the specimen out of the rock face.
b
: to hit something with a tool in order to break off small pieces
—usually + away
The sculptor chipped away at the stone/marble.
—often used figurativelyThere have been endless efforts to chip away at [=gradually reduce] social prejudice.
His failures chipped away at his self-confidence.
3
: to hit or kick (a ball) so that it goes a short distance : to hit or kick a chip shot
The golfer chipped the ball onto the green.
She chipped the soccer ball over the goalie's head.
He chipped a pass to his teammate.
The golfer chipped onto the green.
She chipped in for par. [=she made a par by hitting a chip shot that went into the hole]
Cite this Entry
“Chip.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/chip. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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