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chip 1 (chĭp)
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n.
1. A small broken or cut off piece, as of wood, stone, or glass.
2. A crack or flaw caused by the removal of a small piece.
3.
a. A small disk or counter used in poker and other games to represent money.
b. chips Slang Money.
4. See microchip.
5.
a. A thin, usually fried slice of food, especially a potato chip: ate chips with her sandwich.
b. A very small piece of food or candy: made cookies with chocolate chips.
c. chips Chiefly British French fries.
6. Wood, palm leaves, straw, or similar material cut and dried for weaving.
7. A fragment of dried animal dung used as fuel.
8. Something worthless.
9. Sports A chip shot.
v. chipped, chip·ping, chips
v. tr.
1. To chop or cut with an axe or other implement.
2.
a. To break a small piece from: chip a tooth.
b. To break or cut off (a small piece): chip ice from the window.
3. To shape or carve by cutting or chopping: chipped her name in the stone.
4. To implant a microchip in (an organism).
v. intr.
1. To become broken off into small pieces.
2. Sports To make a chip shot in golf.
Phrasal Verbs:
chip away
To reduce or make progress on something incrementally: We chipped away until the problem was solved.
chip in
1. To contribute money or labor: We all chipped in for beer.
2. To interrupt with comments; interject.
3. To put up chips or money as one's bet in poker and other games.
Idioms:
chip off the old block
A child whose appearance or character closely resembles that of one or the other parent.
chip on (one's) shoulder
A habitually hostile or combative attitude, especially in response to perceived slights.
when the chips are down
At a critical or difficult time.

[Middle English, from Old English cyp, beam, from Latin cippus.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.