chip

1 of 2

noun

plural chips
1
a
: a small usually thin and flat piece (as of wood or stone) cut, struck, or flaked off
b
: a small piece of food: such as
(1)
: a small, thin, crisp, usually salty piece of food typically prepared by frying, baking, or drying
banana chips
especially : potato chip see also corn chip
(2)
(3)
: a small often cone-shaped bit of food often used for baking
chocolate chips
c
: a small card displaying a paint color or a range of paint colors available for purchase
fabric swatches and paint chips
2
: something small, worthless, or trivial
3
a
: one of the counters used as a token for money in poker and other games
b
chips plural : money
used especially in the phrase in the chips
The beginning was always characterized by careless haste in the expectation of landing in the chips, …William Kittredge
c
: something valuable that can be used for advantage in negotiation or trade
a bargaining chip
4
: a piece of dried dung
usually used in combination
cow chip
5
: a flaw left after a chip has been broken off
6
b
: a small wafer of semiconductor material that forms the base for an integrated circuit
7
8
: microarray
DNA chips

chip

2 of 2

verb

chipped; chipping

transitive verb

1
a
: to cut or hew with an edged tool
b(1)
: to cut or break (a small piece) from something
(2)
: to cut or break a fragment from
chip a tooth
(3)
: to cut into chips
chip a tree stump
2
British : chaff, banter
3
: to hit (a return in tennis) with backspin

intransitive verb

1
: to break off in small pieces
2
: to play a chip shot
Phrases
chip off the old block
: a child that resembles his or her parent
chip on one's shoulder
: a challenging or belligerent attitude

Examples of chip in a Sentence

Noun The cup has a chip in it. wood chips were spread over the ground between the plants Verb I bit into something hard and chipped my tooth. He fell and chipped a bone in his knee. The paint had chipped off. He chipped away the ice from the car's windshield. The sculptor chipped away bits of stone. 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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Graphics processing units have become the de-facto chips for running AI applications. Trefis Team, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024 The company is also adding two additional small chip bags to its 18-bag variety pack, the spokesperson said. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
Harris also tried to belittle Trump, which could be an attempt to chip away at his appeal among male voters. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 16 Oct. 2024 The market challenges have created an opening for Republicans to chip away at rank-and-file workers' support for the investments. Daniel Moore, Axios, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for chip 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English; akin to Old English -cippian

Verb

Middle English chippen, from Old English -cippian (as in forcippian to cut off); akin to Old English cipp beam, Old High German chipfa stave

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of chip was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near chip

Cite this Entry

“Chip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chip. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

chip

1 of 2 noun
1
: a small thin flat piece (as of wood, stone, or glass) broken off : flake
2
: a small piece of food
chocolate chip
: as
b
: french fry entry 1
fish and chips
3
a
: a counter used in poker
b
plural : money sense 1c
in the chips
4
: a flaw left after a small piece has been broken off
a cup with a chip in it
5
: a very small slice of silicon containing electronic circuits (as for a computer)

chip

2 of 2 verb
chipped; chipping
1
: to cut or break a chip from something
chip a cup
2
: to break off in small pieces

Medical Definition

chip

noun
: microarray
When exposed to a sample of unknown DNA, the probes on the chip bind to their complementary strands, thereby reading the sequences in the sample.Jeff Wheelwright, Discover

More from Merriam-Webster on chip

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