chip

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈtʃɪp/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/tʃɪp/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(chip)

Inflections of 'chip' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
chips
v 3rd person singular
chipping
v pres p
chipped
v past
chipped
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
chip1 /tʃɪp/USA pronunciation   n., v., chipped, chip•ping. 
n. [countable]
  1. a small, slender piece, such as of wood, separated by chopping or breaking:Wood chips flew everywhere.
  2. Fooda very thin slice or small piece of food, candy, etc.:potato chips; chocolate chips
  3. a mark or flaw made by the breaking off of a small piece: This glass has a chip.
  4. Gamesa small round disk, used as a token for money in roulette, poker, etc.;
    counter:He put all his chips on number fifteen.
  5. ElectronicsAlso called microchip. a tiny slice of semiconducting material on which a transistor or an integrated circuit is formed:memory chips for computers.
  6. Food chips, [plural][Chiefly Brit.] French fries.

v. 
  1. [~ + object] to break off or gouge out (a bit): He chipped the paint off the wall.
  2. to cut or break a bit or fragment (from): [~ + object]to chip a tooth.[no object]My tooth chipped when I fell.
  3. [~ + object] to shape or produce by cutting or flaking away pieces: to chip a figure out of wood.
  4. chip in,
    • [~ + in + object] to give as one's share;
      contribute:We each chipped in five dollars.
    • [no object] to share a cost or burden by giving money, aid, or the like:Let's chip in on a birthday cake.
    • [no object] to interrupt a conversation and add one's own remarks:Right in the middle of my talk someone chipped in.
Idioms
  1. Idioms chip off the old block, a person who strongly resembles a parent:His son is a chip off the old block.
  2. Idioms have a chip on one's shoulder, to be constantly angry or ready to quarrel or fight.
  3. Idioms when the chips are down, when the need for support is greatest:This is one guy who'll help you when the chips are down.


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
chip1  (chip),USA pronunciation n., v., chipped, chip•ping. 
n. 
  1. a small, slender piece, as of wood, separated by chopping, cutting, or breaking.
  2. Fooda very thin slice or small piece of food, candy, etc.:chocolate chips.
  3. a mark or flaw made by the breaking off or gouging out of a small piece:This glass has a chip.
  4. Gamesany of the small round disks, usually of plastic or ivory, used as tokens for money in certain gambling games, as roulette or poker;
    counter.
  5. ElectronicsAlso called microchip. a tiny slice of semiconducting material, generally in the shape of a square a few millimeters long, cut from a larger wafer of the material, on which a transistor or an entire integrated circuit is formed. Cf. microprocessor.
  6. Jewelrya small cut or uncut piece of a diamond or crystal.
  7. anything trivial or worthless.
  8. something dried up or without flavor.
  9. a piece of dried dung:buffalo chips.
  10. wood, straw, etc., in thin strips for weaving into hats, baskets, etc.
  11. Sport[Golf.]See chip shot. 
  12. Sport[Tennis.]a softly sliced return shot with heavy backspin.
  13. Sound Reproductionthe strip of material removed by a recording stylus as it cuts the grooves in a record.
  14. Food chips, [Chiefly Brit.]French fries.
  15. Dialect Terms, Idioms chip off the old block, a person who resembles one parent in appearance or behavior:His son is just a chip off the old block.
  16. Dialect Terms, Idioms chip on one's shoulder, a disposition to quarrel:You will never make friends if you go around with a chip on your shoulder.
  17. Dialect Terms in the chips, [Slang.]wealthy;
    rich:Don't look down on your old friends now that you're in the chips.
  18. Dialect Terms, Idioms when the chips are down, in a discouraging or disadvantageous situation;
    in bad or pressing times:When the chips are down he proves to be a loyal friend.

v.t. 
  1. to hew or cut with an ax, chisel, etc.
  2. to cut, break off, or gouge out (bits or fragments):He chipped a few pieces of ice from the large cube.
  3. to disfigure by breaking off a fragment:to chip the edge of a saucer.
  4. to shape or produce by cutting or flaking away pieces:to chip a figure out of wood.
  5. Gamesto bet by means of chips, as in poker.
  6. Sport[Tennis.]to slice (a ball) on a return shot, causing it to have heavy backspin.
  7. Drugs, Slang Terms[Slang.]to take (a narcotic drug) occasionally, esp. only in sufficient quantity to achieve a mild euphoria.
  8. British Terms, Sport[Chiefly Brit. Sports.]to hit or kick (a ball) a short distance forward.
  9. British Termsto jeer or criticize severely;
    deride;
    taunt.
  10. British Terms[Australian.]to hoe;
    harrow.

v.i. 
  1. to break off in small pieces.
  2. Sport[Golf.]to make a chip shot.
  3. Dialect Terms chip in:
    • to contribute money or assistance;
      participate.
    • Gamesto bet a chip or chips, as in poker.
    • to interrupt a conversation to say something;
      butt in:We all chipped in with our suggestions for the reunion.
  • 1300–50; (noun, nominal) Middle English chip (compare Old English cipp plowshare, beam, i.e., piece cut off ); (verb, verbal) late Middle English chippen (compare Old English -cippian in forcippian to cut off ); akin to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch kippen to chip eggs, hatch
chip′pa•ble, adj. 

chip2  (chip),USA pronunciation v., chipped, chip•ping, n. 
v.i. 
  1. to utter a short chirping or squeaking sound;
    cheep.

n. 
  1. a short chirping or squeaking cry.
  • variant of cheep 1880–85

chip3  (chip),USA pronunciation n. [Wrestling.]
  1. Sporta tricky or special method by which an opponent can be thrown.
  • 1820–30; noun, nominal use of chip to trip up; cognate with German kippen to tip over, Old Norse kippa to pull

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
chip /tʃɪp/ n
  1. a small piece removed by chopping, cutting, or breaking
  2. a mark left after a small piece has been chopped, cut, or broken off something
  3. (in some games) a counter used to represent money
  4. Brit a thin strip of potato fried in deep fat
  5. a shot, kick, etc, lofted into the air, esp over an obstacle or an opposing player's head, and travelling only a short distance
  6. a tiny wafer of semiconductor material, such as silicon, processed to form a type of integrated circuit or component such as a transistor
  7. a thin strip of wood or straw used for making woven hats, baskets, etc
  8. NZ a container for soft fruit, made of thin sheets of wood; punnet
  9. cheap as chips ⇒ Brit informal inexpensive; good value
  10. chip off the old block ⇒ informal a person who resembles one of his or her parents in behaviour
  11. have a chip on one's shoulder ⇒ informal to be aggressively sensitive about a particular thing or bear a grudge
  12. have had one's chips ⇒ Brit informal to be defeated, condemned to die, killed, etc
  13. when the chips are down ⇒ informal at a time of crisis or testing
 vb (chips, chipping, chipped)
  1. to break small pieces from or become broken off in small pieces: will the paint chip?
  2. (transitive) to break or cut into small pieces: to chip ice
  3. (transitive) to shape by chipping
  4. to strike or kick (a ball) in a high arc
Etymology: Old English cipp (n), cippian (vb), of obscure originˈchipper n
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'chip' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
atelier - blue chip - carve - cheap - check - chiffon - chip and PIN - chip-based - chip heater - chip in - chip shot - chip wagon - chippy - DRAM - flake - flaw - French fried potatoes - integrated circuit - jetton - knap - LCoS - log chip - logic cell - microcircuit - monolithic - neural chip - neurochip - nick - potato chip - silicon chip - span-new - spathic - spoon - V-chip - add-in - bargaining chip - Bohlen - brute - chap - charge-coupled device - Chinese Chippendale - chip and dip - chipboard - chip carving - chip log - chipmaker - chippage - chipper - Chippewa Falls - chipping sparrow
Collocations: a [computer, silicon, memory, camera] chip, [is fitted with, has] a chip, put all of his chips on [red, 51], more...

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