chip.
A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.
Meaning & usage
A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.
The floor of the sculptor's studio was strewn with chips of marble.
A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.
This cup has a chip in it.
A token used in place of cash.
A medallion.
A sovereign (the coin).
A circuit fabricated in one piece on a small, thin substrate; a microchip.
A hybrid device mounted in a substrate, containing electronic circuitry and miniaturised mechanical, chemical or biochemical devices.
A deep-fried strip of potato; see also usage note at French fries.
Do you want ketchup, mustard, or mayonnaise on your chips?
Fish and chips is a traditional British dish.
A thin, crisp, fried slice of potato, a crisp; occasionally a similar fried slice of another vegetable or dried fruit.
They made their own potato chips from scratch... He ate a tortilla chip with guac... served with a side of apple chips...
A type of shot in various sports. A shot during which the ball travels more predominantly upwards than in a regular shot, as to clear an obstacle.
A type of shot in various sports. A light shot with a downward slice, usually played from close to the net.
A type of shot in various sports. A low shot, usually played at short range around and onto a green, intended to travel a short distance through the air and roll the remainder of the way towards the hole.
A type of shot in various sports. A very light shot that hits the cue ball so softly that it barely moves an object ball into a pocket without the cue ball going in as well.
A type of shot in various sports. A takeout that hits a rock at an angle.
A dried piece of dung, often used as fuel.
A receptacle, usually for strawberries or other fruit.
A small, near-conical piece of food added in baking.
A small often rectangular patch of colour printed on coated paper, or displayed on a screen, for colour selection and matching.
The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
Anything dried up, withered, or without flavour.
The smallest amount; a whit or jot.
A small basket used for packaging fruit.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kippōną Proto-West Germanic *kippōn Old English *ċippiander. Old English ċipp Middle English chippe English chip Noun from Middle English chip, chippe, from Old English ċipp (“chip; small piece of wood, shaving”), from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) –, from Proto-West Germanic *kippōn (“to cut; carve; hack; chop”), from Proto-Germanic *kippōną (“to chip, chop”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyb- (“to split; divide; germinate; sprout”). Related to Dutch kip, keep (“notch; nick; score”), Dutch kippen (“to hatch”), German Low German kippen (“to cut; clip; trim; shorten”), German kipfen (“to chop off the tip; snip”), Old Swedish kippa (“to chop”). Compare also chop. The formally similar Old English ċipp, ċypp, ċyp (“a beam; log; stock; post”), from Proto-Germanic *kippaz (“log; beam”) (whence Old Saxon kip (“post”), Old High German kipfa, chipfa (“axle, stave”), Old Norse keppr (“cudgel, club”)) is a different, unrelated word either borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake; pale; post”) or borrowed from the same source language as the Latin. Verb from Middle English chippen, from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) – see above.
To chop or cut into small pieces.
The workers chipped the dead branches into mulch.
To break small pieces from.
Be careful not to chip the paint.
To become chipped.
This varnish chips easily.
To chisel (something), to chisel on (something).
The fitter was chipping and filing a workpiece clamped in his vise.
To use a chisel.
The fitters were chipping and filing furiously to meet their deadline.
To strike or play (the ball or other implement) as a chip shot.
To beat (an opposing player) by use of a chip shot, such as by looping the ball over the head of the opposing goalkeeper.
To move (a ball) a relatively short distance by means of an oblique contact.
In potting the black, he also managed to chip the red off the side cushion.
To fit (an animal) with a microchip.
To upgrade an engine management system, usually to increase power.
To ante (up).
To contribute.
Everyone needs to chip in £1 for George's leaving collection.
To make fun of.
To kill.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kippōną Proto-West Germanic *kippōn Old English *ċippiander. Old English ċipp Middle English chippe English chip Noun from Middle English chip, chippe, from Old English ċipp (“chip; small piece of wood, shaving”), from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) –, from Proto-West Germanic *kippōn (“to cut; carve; hack; chop”), from Proto-Germanic *kippōną (“to chip, chop”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyb- (“to split; divide; germinate; sprout”). Related to Dutch kip, keep (“notch; nick; score”), Dutch kippen (“to hatch”), German Low German kippen (“to cut; clip; trim; shorten”), German kipfen (“to chop off the tip; snip”), Old Swedish kippa (“to chop”). Compare also chop. The formally similar Old English ċipp, ċypp, ċyp (“a beam; log; stock; post”), from Proto-Germanic *kippaz (“log; beam”) (whence Old Saxon kip (“post”), Old High German kipfa, chipfa (“axle, stave”), Old Norse keppr (“cudgel, club”)) is a different, unrelated word either borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake; pale; post”) or borrowed from the same source language as the Latin. Verb from Middle English chippen, from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) – see above.
To leave.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.