blimp
/ˈblɪmp/noun, verb
blimp is spelled B-L-I-M-P: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, blimp means “An airship constructed with a nonrigid lifting agent container” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of blimp is blimps.
How many letters and syllables are in blimp?
| Letters | 5: B-L-I-M-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is blimp?
Blimp appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce blimp?
- US /ˈblɪmp/
Blimp has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-blimp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with blimp?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as blimp from its last stressed vowel (/ɪmp/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of blimp
- blimps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- blimping participle, present
- blimped participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does blimp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An airship constructed with a nonrigid lifting agent container.
- 2
Any large airborne inflatable.
- 3
slangAn obese person.
- 4
A person similar to the cartoon character Colonel Blimp; a pompous, reactionary British man.
- 5
A soundproof cover for a video camera.
verb
- 1
slangTo expand like a blimp or balloon; to become fat.
After college, she started blimping and could no longer wear her favorite little black dress.
- 2
To fit (a video camera) with a soundproof cover.
noun
- 1
A person considered similar to Colonel Blimp in appearance, thought, or expression, particularly (historical or archaic, derogatory) a reactionary middle-class Englishman during the Interwar Period.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Blimp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ballon dirigeable, dirigeable |
| German | Zeppelin, Prallluftschiff, Blimp , Fettsack |
| Portuguese | dirigível |
| Spanish | blimp, dirigible no rígido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does blimp come from?
Origin not entirely certain. However, most historians believe that it is onomatopoeia for the sound a blimp makes when thumped. Although there is some disagreement among historians, credit for coining the term is usually given to Lt. A. D. Cunningham of the British Royal Navy in 1915. There is an often repeated, but false, alternative explanation for the term. The erroneous story is that at some time in the early 20th century, the United States military had two classes for airships: Type A-rigid and Type B-limp, hence “blimp”. In fact, A. D.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).