chip

/tʃɪp/

/tʃɪp/

Other forms: chips; chipped; chipping

If a small flake of your purple nail polish breaks off, you might describe it as a chip, or a tiny piece. You might also say, "Shoot, I always seem to chip my nails."

You can use the word chip as a noun or a verb, to describe the breaking off of a small piece or the small piece itself. You might accidentally chip your aunt's favorite tea cup, or realize that slamming your door made a chip of paint fall off your bedroom wall. The word comes from the Old English forcippian, "to pare away by cutting," and the related cipp, also pronounced chip, which means "small piece of wood."

Definitions of chip

1. noun

   a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
   synonyms: bit, flake, fleck, scrap

   types:

   matchwood

   fragments of wood

   exfoliation, scale, scurf

   a thin flake of dead epidermis shed from the surface of the skin

   scurf

   (botany) a covering that resembles scales or bran that covers some plant parts

   sliver, splinter

   a small thin sharp bit of wood or glass or metal

   dander

   small scales from animal skins or hair or bird feathers that can cause allergic reactions in some people

   dandruff

   loose scales shed from the scalp

   type of:

   fragment

   a piece broken off or cut off of something else
2. noun

   the act of chipping something
   synonyms: chipping, splintering

   type of:

   break, breakage, breaking

   the act of breaking something
3. noun

   a mark left after a small piece has been chopped or broken off of something
   synonyms: check

   type of:

   blemish, defect, mar

   a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body)
4. noun

   a thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat
   synonyms: Saratoga chip, crisp, potato chip

   type of:

   snack food

   food for light meals or for eating between meals
5. noun

   a piece of dried bovine dung
   synonyms: buffalo chip, cow chip, cow dung

   type of:

   droppings, dung, muck

   fecal matter of animals
6. verb

   break off (a piece from a whole)
   “Her tooth chipped”

   synonyms: break away, break off, chip off, come off

   types:

   flake, flake off, peel, peel off

   come off in flakes or thin small pieces

   exfoliate

   come off in a very thin piece

   type of:

   divide, part, separate

   come apart
7. verb

   break a small piece off from
   “chip the glass”

   “chip a tooth”

   synonyms: break off, cut off, knap

   type of:

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument
8. verb

   cut a nick into
   synonyms: nick

   type of:

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument
9. verb

   form by chipping
   “They chipped their names in the stone”

   type of:

   forge, form, mold, mould, shape, work

   make something, usually for a specific function
10. noun

    a small disk-shaped counter used to represent money when gambling
    synonyms: poker chip

    types:

    blue chip

    a blue poker chip with the highest value

    type of:

    counter

    game equipment (as a piece of wood, plastic, or ivory) used for keeping a count or reserving a space in various card or board games
11. noun

    a triangular wooden float attached to the end of a log line
    type of:

    float

    something that floats on the surface of water
12. noun

    electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit
    synonyms: micro chip, microchip, microprocessor chip, silicon chip

    types:

    biochip

    a microchip that uses tiny strands of DNA to latch onto and quickly recognize thousands of genes at a time; intended for use in a biological environment

    DNA chip, gene chip

    a microchip that holds DNA probes that form half of the DNA double helix and can recognize DNA from samples being tested

    memory chip

    a RAM microchip that can be plugged into a computer to provide additional memory

    microprocessor

    a tiny electronic device in a computer, containing integrated circuits and serving to carry out the computer's logical and arithmetic functions; a semiconductor chip

    read-only memory chip

    a memory chip providing read-only memory

    type of:

    semiconductor, semiconductor device, semiconductor unit

    a conductor made with semiconducting material
13. noun

    (golf) a low running approach shot
    synonyms: chip shot

    type of:

    approach, approach shot

    a relatively short golf shot intended to put the ball onto the putting green
14. verb

    play a chip shot
    type of:

    shoot

    throw or propel in a specific direction or towards a specific objective