plural chips
1
a
: a small usually thin and flat piece (as of wood or stone) cut, struck, or flaked off
b
: a small piece of food: such as
(1)
: a small, thin, crisp, usually salty piece of food typically prepared by frying, baking, or drying
banana chips
especially
: potato chip see also corn chip
(2)
(3)
: a small often cone-shaped bit of food often used for baking
chocolate chips
c
: a small card displaying a paint color or a range of paint colors available for purchase
fabric swatches and paint chips
2
: something small, worthless, or trivial
3
a
: one of the counters used as a token for money in poker and other games
b
chips plural
: money
—used especially in the phrase in the chips
The beginning was always characterized by careless haste in the expectation of landing in the chips, …—
William Kittredge
William Kittredge
c
: something valuable that can be used for advantage in negotiation or trade
a bargaining chip
4
: a piece of dried dung
—usually used in combination
cow chip
5
: a flaw left after a chip has been broken off
6
b
: a small wafer of semiconductor material that forms the base for an integrated circuit
8
: microarray
DNA chips
chipped; chipping
1
a
: to cut or hew with an edged tool
b(1)
: to cut or break (a small piece) from something
(2)
: to cut or break a fragment from
chip a tooth
(3)
: to cut into chips
chip a tree stump
3
: to hit (a return in tennis) with backspin
Examples of chip in a Sentence
Noun
The cup has a chip in it.
wood chips were spread over the ground between the plants
Verb
I bit into something hard and chipped my tooth.
He fell and chipped a bone in his knee.
The paint had chipped off.
He chipped away the ice from the car's windshield.
The sculptor chipped away bits of stone.
The golfer chipped the ball onto the green.
She chipped the soccer ball over the goalie's head.
He chipped a pass to his teammate.
The golfer chipped onto the green.
Recent Examples on the Web
Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Fans could live there for an entire weekend with a supply of chicken wings and chips and never set foot in the crowded stadium.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 6 Nov. 2024
David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Harris’ efforts to chip away at that gap could mitigate her deficits among male voters.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chip 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
But Trump’s comeback could escalate the chip war between the U.S. and China.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Fans could live there for an entire weekend with a supply of chicken wings and chips and never set foot in the crowded stadium.
—Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
Since then, Harris has consistently chipped away at some of former President Donald Trump's polling leads and surveys predicting the Republican nominee would win back the White House.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Harris’ efforts to chip away at that gap could mitigate her deficits among male voters.
—Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for chip
Dictionary Entries Near chip
Cite this Entry
“Chip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chip. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chip
1 of 2 noun1
: a small thin flat piece (as of wood, stone, or glass) broken off : flake
2
3
a
: a counter used in poker
b
plural
: money sense 1c
in the chips
4
: a flaw left after a small piece has been broken off
a cup with a chip in it
5
: a very small slice of silicon containing electronic circuits (as for a computer)
chip
2 of 2 verb
chipped; chipping
1
: to cut or break a chip from something
chip a cup
2
: to break off in small pieces
Medical Definition
chip
noun
: microarray
When exposed to a sample of unknown DNA, the probes on the chip bind to their complementary strands, thereby reading the sequences in the sample.—Jeff Wheelwright, Discover
Jeff Wheelwright, DiscoverLove words? Need even more definitions?
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