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chip

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A small fragment of something broken off from the whole.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

chip
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtʃɪp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A small fragment of something broken off from the whole

  2. A small piece broken from a larger piece of solid material.

  3. A mark left after a small piece has been chopped or broken off of something

  4. A damaged area of a surface where a small piece has been broken off.

  5. gamesgambling

    A token used in place of cash.

  6. A thin crisp slice of potato fried in deep fat

verb

  1. transitive

    To chop or cut into small pieces.

  2. Break a small piece off from

  3. transitive

    To break small pieces from.

  4. transitiveinformal

    To fit (an animal) with a microchip.

  5. uktransitiveoften with "in"

    To contribute.

  6. also to chip at

    To make fun of.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A small fragment of something broken off from the whole

Used this way, chip is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

chocolate chipblue chipsilicon chipbargaining chipcomputer chipmemory chippotato chipsingle chip

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • bit

    A small amount of something.

  • nick

    Senses connoting something small.

  • chipping

    A fragment broken off a larger object.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • chipsnounPlural form

    Strips of potato fried in deep fat.

  • chippingnounInflected form

    The act of chipping something.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • chipping sparrownounCompound term

    Small North American finch common in urban areas.

  • chip awayverbCompound term

    Remove or withdraw gradually: "These new customs are chipping away at the quality of life".

  • chip atverbCompound term

    Engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface.

  • chip away atverbCompound term

    Remove or withdraw gradually: "These new customs are chipping away at the quality of life".

  • chip offverbCompound term

    Break off (a piece from a whole).

  • chip shotnounCompound term

    A low running approach shot.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.