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chip¹

  • /t͡ʃɪp/
  • [t͡ʃʰɪp]

Rhymes with -ɪp

Where it comes from

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.

noun chips

  1. A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material. The floor of the sculptor's studio was strewn with chips of marble.

    Similar: flake, fragment, bit, chip, chunk, tranche, clip, crumb, crumbling, cutting, fleak, hunk

  2. A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off. This cup has a chip in it.
  3. A token used in place of cash. If the second player does raise three chips, and all the other players drop, the player who opened may stay in by putting three more chips in the pot, for then he will have put in precisely as many chips as the second player.
  4. A medallion. AA chips showing duration of abstinence (6 months)
  5. dated, slang A sovereign (the coin).
  6. A circuit fabricated in one piece on a small, thin substrate; a microchip. 1986 September 1, Tom Moran, Lisa L. Spiegelman, New Chip Said to Contain Seven PC AT Chip Functions, InfoWorld, page 5, But sources close to the company said the chip contains two direct memory access controllers, two interrupt controllers, a timer, a memory mapper from Texas Instruments, and a Mot

    Similar: IC, integrated circuit, microchip, silicon chip

  7. A hybrid device mounted in a substrate, containing electronic circuitry and miniaturised mechanical, chemical or biochemical devices. 2002, Koji Ikuta, Atsushi Takahashi, Kota Ikeda, Shoji Maruo, User-Assembly Fully Integrated Micro Chemical Laboratory Using Biochemical IC Chips for Wearable/Implantable Applications, Yoshinobu Baba, Shuichi Shoji, Albert van den Berg (editors), Micro Total Analysis Systems 2002: Proceedings of the
  8. Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, archaic, plural normally A deep-fried strip of potato; see also usage note at French fries. I always say the best way to judge an establishment is by its chips because if you can’t master that, what can you do?

    Similar: fries, fry, French fry

  9. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, especially, in plural 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...

    Similar: crisp

  10. A shot during which the ball travels more predominantly upwards than in a regular shot, as to clear an obstacle. Oxlade-Chamberlain saw his attempted chip well blocked by goalkeeper Costanzo at the start of the second half.
  11. A light shot with a downward slice, usually played from close to the net.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. A takeout that hits a rock at an angle.
  15. A dried piece of dung, often used as fuel.
  16. New Zealand, Northern A receptacle, usually for strawberries or other fruit.

    Similar: punnet, pottle

  17. A small, near-conical piece of food added in baking. chocolate chip
  18. A small often rectangular patch of colour printed on coated paper, or displayed on a screen, for colour selection and matching.
  19. Synonym of pill (“rounded rectangle containing a brief text caption”).

    Similar: pill

  20. The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
  21. historical Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
  22. archaic, derogatory Anything dried up, withered, or without flavour.
  23. The smallest amount; a whit or jot. One captain that I sailed with was not a chip better than the one we’re with now.
  24. A small basket used for packaging fruit. He turned suddenly from a chip of strawberries, drew a gold watch from his fob and held it at its chain's length.

verb chips · chipping · chipped

  1. transitive To chop or cut into small pieces. The workers chipped the dead branches into mulch.
  2. transitive To break small pieces from. Be careful not to chip the paint.
  3. intransitive To become chipped. This varnish chips easily.
  4. dialectal, transitive To chisel (something), to chisel on (something). The fitter was chipping and filing a workpiece clamped in his vise.
  5. dialectal, intransitive To use a chisel. The fitters were chipping and filing furiously to meet their deadline.
  6. transitive To strike or play (the ball or other implement) as a chip shot. Koeman identified Southampton’s third as their finest goal of the game. Jack Cork, the most underrated player at a much-lauded club, swept the ball out wide to Tadic, who waited for Cork to run to the back post before chipping the ball across to him to slam in a deserved goal from close range, despi
  7. transitive To beat (an opposing player) by use of a chip shot, such as by looping the ball over the head of the opposing goalkeeper. Typically when someone scores a stunning goal this early in the season — it’s only Week 2 — it gets forgotten, or at the very least lost in the shuffle after eight more months of worthy GOTY candidates. Not this year, though, because no one is forgetting Amarikwa chipping Adam Kwarasey from 35 yards
  8. transitive 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.
  9. informal, transitive To fit (an animal) with a microchip.
  10. transitive To upgrade an engine management system, usually to increase power.
  11. intransitive, often, with "in" To ante (up).
  12. UK, often, transitive, with "in" To contribute. Everyone needs to chip in £1 for George's leaving collection.
  13. To make fun of. They chip me about giving that young judy the cross; but I dont care: I stand up to them proper, and tell them that if she hadnt a better right to it than they, she'd be where they are.
  14. slang To kill.

chip²

  • /t͡ʃɪp/
  • [t͡ʃʰɪp]

Rhymes with -ɪp

verb chips · chipping · chipped

  1. UK, intransitive, slang To leave. ‘Lloyd, I’m gonna chip.’ ‘You just got here!’ ‘I know–but I gotta chip. Got shit to do.’

Chip³

  • /t͡ʃɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

proper noun

  1. A diminutive of the male given names Christopher and Charles. "What else? Anyway, here's the genealogy: Charles Junior's only son is Charles the Third - like royalty. He goes by Chip - Cassie's daddy. The mom is Cindy. The dead son was Chad - Charles the Fourth." "All Cs," I said. "Sounds like they like order."
  2. A nickname used for males who are second-generation namesakes.

CHIP⁴

  • /t͡ʃɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of children's health insurance program
  2. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential

ChIP⁵

  • /t͡ʃɪp/

Rhymes with -ɪp

noun

  1. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of chromatin immunoprecipitation

CHiP⁶

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of California Highway Patrol

    Similar: CHP

noun CHiPs

  1. An officer of the California Highway Patrol.

    Similar: CHPer

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: splintering, flake, scrap, crack, crisp, fleck, cut off, break off, come off, break away, cow chip, buffalo chip, bit, nick, knap, silicon chip

Translations

Every language

noun small piece broken off

Españolastilla, cepa, fragmento
Portuguêslasca, fragmento
Françaisbrisure, fragment
DeutschSplitter, Span, Bruchstück
Italianoframmento, scheggia
Ελληνικάπελεκούδι pelekoúdi, ροκανίδι rokanídi, θραύσμα thráfsma
Românăsurcea, așchie, fragment
Русскийще́пка ščépka, лучи́на lučína, стру́жка f of wood strúžka, оско́лок oskólok, обло́мок oblómok
עבריתשְׁבָב shvav

noun damaged area of a surface

Españoldesconchado, mella, portillo
Portuguêslasca
Françaisébréchure, coche
DeutschMacke
Ελληνικάθραύσμα thráfsma
Русскийщербина ščerbina, зазубрина zazubrina, скол skol

noun token used in gambling

Españolficha
한국어칩 chip
中文筹码 chóumǎ
Portuguêsficha
DeutschChip, Spielmarke
Italianochip gettone, fiche
Ελληνικάμάρκα márka
Русскийфи́шка fíška
Tiếng Việtphỉnh
עבריתאֲסִימוֹן asimón

noun integrated circuit

Españolchip, microchip
한국어칩 chip
日本語チップ chippu
中文芯片 xīnpiàn
Kiswahilichipu
Portuguêschipe, circuito integrado
Françaispuce électronique
DeutschChip
Italianochip
Ελληνικάτσιπάκι tsipáki
Românăcip
Русскиймикросхе́ма mikrosxéma, чип čip
Tiếng Việtvi mạch, mạch tích hợp, vi mạch tích hợp
עבריתצ׳יפ čip, שְׁבָב shvav

noun thin, crisp, fried piece of potato or vegetable

Españolchip
한국어칩스 chipseu, 감자칩 gamjachip, 칩 chip
日本語チップス chippusu
中文片 piàn
Portuguêsbatata frita
Françaischips, croustille
DeutschChip, Kartoffelchip
Italianopatatine, patatine fritte
Ελληνικάπατατάκι patatáki, τσιπ tsip
Românăchips
Русскийчипс čips
Tiếng Việtbim bim
עבריתצִ׳יפְּס chips, חטיף תפוחי אדמה khatíf tapukhéi adamá, תפוצ׳יפס tápuchips

noun shot during which the ball travels more predominantly upwards than in a regular shot

Portuguêschapéu

noun dried piece of dung

Русскийкизя́к kizják

verb to chop or cut into small pieces

Españolastillar
Françaisbriser

verb to break small pieces from

Españoldesconchar, desportillar, mellar
Françaiscocher

verb to become chipped

Españoldesconcharse, desportillarse

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"chip." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chip. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

APA

chip. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chip

Chicago

"chip." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chip.

BibTeX
@misc{chip_2026,
  title = {chip},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chip},
  urldate = {2026-11-05}
}