pip
pip Lexical Profile
pip Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small hard seed in a fleshy fruit, such as an apple, orange, or lemon.
"She carefully removed the bitter pips from the lemon slices before adding them to the pitcher of water."
One of the spots or symbols on a playing card, die, or domino indicating its numerical value or suit, or a star or emblem on a military uniform denoting rank.
"He rolled the pair of dice across the felt table and counted twelve pips facing up."
A short, high-pitched tone, especially one broadcast electronically as a time signal or radar blip.
"Listeners tuned in to the radio station heard the six familiar pips marking the top of the hour."
In finance, the smallest standardized price increment by which a currency exchange rate or bond quotation can fluctuate.
"The currency pair rose by fifteen pips immediately following the central bank's interest rate announcement."
A respiratory disease of poultry and other birds characterized by thick mucus in the throat and a hardened scale on the tongue, or humorously, a minor human ailment or fit of irritation.
"The farmer quarantined the hens after noticing signs of the pip in the main coop."
• verb
British To defeat or surpass a competitor by a very narrow margin or at the last moment.
"The defending champion was pipped at the post by a rookie sprinter in the final meter of the race."
To break through or crack open the shell of an egg from the inside during hatching (of a young bird or reptile).
"After three weeks of incubation, the first chicks began to pip their shells."
To emit a short, high-pitched sound or beep.
"The microwave timer pipped softly when the food was ready."
• Rhymes for pip
Word Origin & Etymology
"Pip" represents a convergence of several distinct historical roots: the fruit seed sense is an 18th-century shortening of "pippin" (from Old French pepin); the playing-card spot dates to the 16th century from an uncertain origin; the poultry disease comes from Middle Dutch pippe (ultimately from Vulgar Latin pipita, an alteration of Classical Latin pituita meaning "phlegm"); and the acoustic tone is imitative of a short, high-pitched sound.